Digimon Heroes 2
by twilight wolf writer
Summary: The Digital World is in danger once again from being consumed by darkness. Now the time for Digidestined, both old and new, to take a stand once again against the darkness and save the Digital World. R & R
1. Ch 1 New Day

_I do not own anything to the Digimon franchise. I suggest that new readers read Digimon Heroes to better understand a few of the events that will occur over the course of the story._

_**Ch. 1 New Day**_

The morning sun was rising on this beautiful day. The sunlight could be seen for miles as it reflected off a nearby lake. The city of Lakeview was a beautiful metropolis full of peace and tranquility. The whole city took pride in their beautiful lake and took great pride in keeping their city just as beautiful as their pristine lake. Over at the cities high school, named Lakeview High, classes were beginning. Many students entered the school, preparing for their first day of classes. Over in the parking lot, two students were exiting a dark red mustang. One of the students was male while the other was female. The male student was tall, physically fit, and had curly black hair. He wore white tennis shoes, blue jeans, a white shirt, a blue letterman jacket, and a baseball cap. The female was a bit shorter than the male, had long brown hair tied back with a pink bow, and had a very gentle look. The girl wore white sneakers, blue jeans, and a pink shirt with a white stripe going across the front. The two went to the trunk of the car and started to gather their things.

"You do know now that you're in high school, I can't be babysitting you anymore right?" laughed the male.

"Oh shut it Cody" giggled the girl "I'm a big girl now"

"Just checking Kayla" laughed Cody "Still can't give you piggy back rides before you ask"

"Yes you can, I might be bigger now but you can still do that for me" replied Kayla with a smile.

"Something's never change do they" spoke another voice with a laugh. Kayla and Cody turned to see another male approach them with a back pack set over his shoulders. The male was about the same height as Cody with short black hair, and wore a pair of thin glasses. His attire consisted of black sneakers, blue jeans, and a grey tee shirt with a navy blue strip going diagonally across the chest.

"Hey Albert" smiled Kayla.

"Morning, you guys ready for the first day of school?" asked Albert.

"Not really, could have used some more time off" sighed Cody.

"Whatever, you had enough time off already to play around all day" said Kayla. The trio began to make their way to the school talking. They entered the main building of the school and found it packed with students talking about their time off, picking up their schedules, and looking for their class rooms. Albert, Kayla, and Cody picked up their schedules and began to look for their classes together.

"I love being a senior, after sixth period I'm done for the day unless I got baseball practice" said Cody.

"I just get eighth period off" said Albert looking over his schedule. "I should have never signed up for advanced placement classes, band, and medical classes all at once."

"Hey look, we all have lunch together" smiled Kayla.

"Yep, I think Michelle and Andrew have the same lunch to." said Albert.

"So does TJ" added Cody.

"We'd better get moving to our classes then. Don't want to be late on our first day" said Albert.

"Speak for yourself, guess I'll see you two at lunch then." said Cody taking off to his first period class. Albert and Kayla did the same and headed for their classes.

--

A deep blue sky overhead made today just another day in paradise. Down at the base of a massive mountain peak sat a quite village. The village contained nothing but a few huts made out of stone and mud. Many creatures inhabited this village, all in various colors, sizes and shapes. Everything was peaceful, everything was quiet. It seemed as if nothing could disrupt this perfect day.

It was then that the sky began to grow dark. As the clouds collected above, the village below was bathed in shadows. Several loud explosions could be heard, coming from the mountain side followed by a storm of stones destroying the village. All the creatures then began to panic and flee the village into a nearby forest. Amongst these creatures was a creature that resembled a rabbit with brown fur and pink fur on its ears, arms, and feet.

"Come on, have to hurry" panted the creature as she ran away from the village with several other creatures. The creature noticed several black orbs fly past her striking a few of the creatures ahead of her. Those struck by the orbs halted then turned around and began to march toward the village, their eyes now colored black.

"Come to us Digimon, come to your new masters" echoed a voice through the forest. More and more black orbs flew through the forest, capturing more Digimon. Before she knew it, the small rabbit was the only one left running.

"Kayla, I need you. Please help me"

--

Kayla was walking down the hallway toward the cafeteria when she felt something rush through her. The feeling of worry and dread spread through her body causing her to stop.

"Kayla, wait up!" yelled a voice. Kayla turned to see who was running up to her.

"Oh, hey Trey" responded Kayla.

"I'd think you'd be happier to see me" laughed Trey. Trey was the same age as Kayla, a few inches taller, had a lean body type, and had short brown hair. Trey wore a pair of brown boots, jeans, red long sleeve shirt with white stripes going along the arms, and a necklace with what looked like a claw attached to it around his neck.

"Sorry about that, what's up?" said Kayla forcing a smile.

"Just heading to lunch, what about you?" asked Trey.

"The same" replied Kayla.

"Cool, cool, let's sit together then" said Trey leading the way. The two made their way to the cafeteria, got their food and sat down. Once they finished eating, they returned their food trays and headed out to the patio area to talk before the next period started.

"So how was your summer?" asked Kayla.

"Pretty good, practiced for track, played a little guitar here and there. You know, the usual." laughed Trey.

"That's cool." said Kayla looking around the patio "Hey Albert, over here!"

Albert saw Kayla and caught up with her, another girl following behind him. The girl was skinny with long black hair keep back with a white head band, had lightly tanned skin, and was the same height as Kayla. The girl wore a pair of white shorts, black tennis shoes, and a black shirt with a few stars highlighted in white along the right sleeve.

"Hey Kayla and you're…" began Albert.

"Trey, my names Trey. Nice to meet you… Albert right?"

"That's right. Oh, this is Jennifer, she's in your grade and is one of the brave ones to start the medical training courses" introduced Albert.

"Nice to meet you two" said Jennifer.

"What brings you two out here?" asked Trey.

"The senior medical students are supposed to help the freshman medical students so lucky me got paired with Jennifer" answered Albert. "Speaking of classes, we'd better get moving, first day of the medical training class is always the fun one"

"Right, I guess we'll see you guys around then" said Jennifer.

"My next class is in that area too so I'll come with you guys" said Kayla.

"So is mine" added Trey.

"Then let's get moving" said Albert. The four began to head through the halls of Lakeview high to their next set of classes. Jennifer and Trey got to their classes first leaving Kayla and Albert walking through the halls together for the mean time.

"Albert, did you feel something earlier, like something was wrong?" questioned Kayla.

"Just about to ask you the same question, something feels off to me" replied Albert.

"I got this bad feeling, the same feeling I'd get whenever I could sense the darkness back in the Digital World. You don't think something is wrong in the Digital World do you?"

"It's possible, I got Andrew to check on a few things for now. He'll keep up posted in case he finds something wrong. You still got your Digivice and D-Dex with you?"

"Yep, never leave home without them" said Kayla pulling out the items. Kayla's Digivice was a small, palm sized device with a pink grip and small screen on its surface. Her D-Dex was a rectangular device that opened up to reveal a small keyboard, had a small camera on the front, and contained a keyboard so to message others with a similar device.

"Good, if something is up, Andrew will let us know. For now just go to class and try to relax." said Albert.

"Ok, I'll try." spoke Kayla.

--

The rabbit like Digimon was still fleeing through the forest, away from the explosions and captured Digimon. The Digimon kept running and running until she tripped and tumbled across the ground. The Digimon just let out a small whimper "Kayla, I need you here with me."

"Lopmon! Lopmon! Over here, quickly!" echoed a voice. Lopmon collected herself off the ground and saw two Digimon hiding behind a nearby tree. One of them was colored orange and resembled a small dinosaur with big green eyes. The other looked similar to a lizard with blue and white skin and had a yellow v mark on its forehead.

"Agumon! Veemon!" said Lopmon relieved.

"Come on Lopmon, we gotta get out of here" said Agumon.

"We found a safe place to hide for now" added Veemon. Lopmon ran over to her Digimon friends and took off with them in search of refuge from the chaos that started to consume their world.


	2. Ch 2 A Plea For Help

_**Ch.2 A Plea For Help**_

"This way guys" lead Agumon. Agumon, Veemon, and Lopmon continued to make their way through the dense forest in search of shelter from the encroaching shadows. The trio of Digimon kept on moving until they reached a small, seemingly abandoned cave. Once inside the cave, the three Digimon sat on the ground to catch their breath.

"We'll be safe in here" said Veemon.

"What's going on?" asked Lopmon.

"We have no idea, one minute we're just lounging around the forest when suddenly all these clouds began to form followed bunch of black orbs began flying around the forest, capturing Digimon and turning them into zombies." spoke Agumon.

"Same thing happened at the village" informed Lopmon.

"Gee, just when you thought we had it easy, all this happens. I wonder how the others are doing?" thought Veemon.

"They should be fine I hope" continued Agumon.

"I wish Kayla and the others were here" frowned Lopmon.

"Is there a way we can contact them?" asked Veemon.

"Not that I know of" said Agumon.

"There has to be a way to call the others, the Digidestined are kinda meant to protect the Digital World from danger" spoke Veemon. The three Digimon stopped talking when they felt the cave shake for a second.

"We'd better hide" said Agumon looking at the entrance of the cave.

"Where are we gonna go?" asked Lopmon.

"There's only one way to go" said Veemon looking down the dark tunnels of the cave. With that, the three Digimon began to head further and further into the cave, not knowing what lies deep within.

--

The computer lab at Lakeview was practically empty with the exception of one boy typing rapidly on a keyboard. The boy was of average height, slim, and had sharply combed black hair. His clothing consisted of grey cargo shorts, grey tennis shoes, and a blue tee shirt. He continued with his work until he heard the door open on the other side of the room.

"Hey Andrew, find anything yet?" asked one voice.

"Nothing yet Cody" replied Andrew.

"Well keep trying, if Albert senses something wrong then something must be up" spoke another voice. This voice came from a boy that was the same height as Cody, had a leaner body, and had his hair cut in a buzz cut like style. All he wore were brown boots, blue jeans, a blue tee shirt, and a letterman jacket.

"I'll keep trying TJ. If Winona was here we could get this done faster" sighed Andrew. "Hard to find a gateway that is 'sealed forever'"

"You'll get find it" said Cody patting Andrew on the back. Andrew just returned to his work while TJ and Cody looked on.

--

Agumon, Veemon, and Lopmon continued to make their way through the cave's tunnels until they found a rather large room seemingly carved into cave. The room was lit by several torches attached to the rooms walls all surrounding a stone, circular shrine in the center of the room. Atop of the shrine were three clear orbs about the size of a human's palm, each showing a strange symbol in the center slowly rotating around and around. The trio then gathered around the shrine and looked over the three orbs.

"Aren't those the symbols for the Crest of Valor and the Crest of Trust?" asked Lopmon pointing to the red and teal colored crests.

"Hey, they are! Which one is that one though?" questioned Veemon looking over a crimson colored symbol. The symbol looked like the outline of a sword but had two lines running diagonally through it.

"Maybe we can contact the others with these" spoke Agumon placing his claws on the orb with the Crest of Valor floating in the center. "Cody, if you can hear me… Help!"

"It's worth a shot" shrugged Veemon placing his hands on the orb with the Crest of Trust "TJ, help us!"

--

"You hear that?" asked Cody and TJ at the same time.

"I didn't hear anything" replied Andrew, still focused on the computer.

"I could have sworn that I just heard Agumon right now." said Cody.

"Yeah, I know I just heard Veemon right now" added TJ. The computer screen suddenly went black then began to flash a series on ones and zeroes. The screen on the computer then displayed a black window with a several menus on the side. One menu displayed a place to input data and coordinates, another displayed a window for messages, and the final menu displayed a three dimensional globe. On the top section contained a window with a red bar completely lit up and a green bar below it in a darkened color tone. The center of the screen showed nothing but static currently. Two very familiar voices could be heard from the static screen.

"Cody… help us!" yelled Agumon.

"The Digital World is in trouble… again!" added Veemon.

"I'm coming Agumon" said Cody as he reached into his back pack, pulling out his red Digivice.

"You're not going in without back up" spoke TJ grabbing his Digivice.

"Hold on guys, we don't even know if the gateway is safe" said Andrew, trying to reason with TJ and Cody.

"Message the others and have them meet here" instructed Cody as he held up his Digivice to the computer screen, TJ performing the same movement "Hope this still works, Digiport open!"

Before Andrew could say anything else, the computer screen began to glow in a bright white color pulling Cody and TJ through the screen. Once the light subsided, Andrew was left alone in the computer.

"What was that?" asked a voice suddenly. Andrew turned to the computer lab's doorway to see a tall, skinny boy with messy black hair looking at Andrew from the doorway. The boy's clothing contained white sneakers, old blue jeans, and a navy blue colored shirt with white stripes going around it.

"Oh boy" sighed Andrew.

--

The orbs that Veemon and Agumon touched began to glow brightly in their respective colors. Before they could react, the two Digimon felt something big land on top of them. As the two Digimon recovered from the fall, their hearts began to race with joy.

"TJ!" exclaimed Veemon jumping onto his partner.

"Cody!" yelled Agumon wrapping his claws around Cody.

"Good to see you again Veemon" smiled TJ.

"Oww Agumon, that hurts. Nice to see you again too" laughed Cody. The four of them collected themselves, giving TJ and Cody a chance to look over their clothing. Their clothing was the same as it was four years ago, brown hiking boots, blue jeans, a black undershirt, and a light weight vest with their crest symbol on the back in black. Cody's vest was colored red while TJ's vest was colored teal.

"Just like the old days" said TJ placing his D-Dex in one of the vest's pockets.

"So what's been going on guys?" asked Cody.

"Something or someone trying to mess with the Digital World." spoke Veemon.

"Yeah, any place that is peaceful will be covered by dark clouds then be attacked all while a bunch of black orbs begin to fly around taking over any Digimon they touch." informed Agumon.

"We were able to escape to this cave where we found those orbs which somehow brought you guys here" finished Lopmon.

"These things?" said TJ picking up the orb with his Crest of Trust in the center.

"I wonder what makes these things so special" questioned Cody picking up the orb with the Crest of Valor.

Once the two lifted their orbs off the shrine, the whole room began to rumble. A beam of white light shot out from the center of the shire, releasing five small orbs into the air. The glowing orbs quickly dashed through the ceiling in the blink of an eye.

"Ok…" began TJ.

"Never a dull moment around here" sighed Cody.


	3. Ch 3 Chosen Ones

_**Ch. 3 Chosen Ones**_

Kayla was sprinting down the hallways of Lakeview High, searching for computer lab. Now that classes were over for the day, everything was silent and empty, making her trip that much easier. Kayla kept running back and forth through the hallways lost, until she heard a voice call out to her.

"Kayla! Over here!" Kayla turned to see Albert waving to her from across the hall. She then ran over and caught up to Albert.

"You got the message?" asked Kayla

"Yep, on my way to the computer lab now" replied Albert.

"Good cause I can't find it" frowned Kayla. The two of them made their way through the halls until they found two more of their fellow Digidestined heading for the same destination. One of them was a girl, very slender, with tan colored skin and black hair. She wore a pair of white shorts, white sneakers and a bright yellow shirt with a white trim. The other was male, tanned skin, medium height, and had a fair body type. His attire contained black sneakers, black cargo pants, and wore a green tee shirt.

"Hey Ann! Hey Javi!" greeted Albert.

"Got Andrew's message too guys?" questioned Kayla.

"Yep, we're heading to the computer lab right now." answered Ann.

"Good thing there's no band practice today or anything. We'd be in so much trouble right now for skipping." added Javi with a laugh.

"So where are the others?" asked Albert.

"Michelle and Brandi are stuck in the auditorium for some orientation on choir and Winona has already left the school with no way back" replied Javi.

The four of them continued to make their way through the hallway until they reached the outside of the lab. Albert was just about to open the door when suddenly they heard Trey call out to Kayla.

"Hey Kayla, where are you heading off?" asked Trey. The group turned to see Trey and another boy walking up to them. The other boy was the same height as Trey, looked physically fit with lightly tanned skin, and had spiky brown hair. The boy wore white sneakers, brown cargo pants, and a dark yellow shirt with a black outline going along the sides.

"Oh hey Trey. Hi Diego. I'm just going to do some homework in the computer lab" lied Kayla.

"Homework? On the first day of school? Like we're gonna believe that" laughed Diego.

"We're not trying to do anything out of the ordinary if that's what you're thinking" said Javi sounding nervous.

"Very inconspicuous Javi" sighed Ann.

"Looks guys, I'm kinda needed here so…" started Kayla.

"Javi! Ann! Albert! Hold up!" yelled a female voice, the whole group turning to the location of the sound.

"What's Ashley doing here?" whispered Albert to Ann.

"I have no idea" shrugged Ann.

The girl know as Ashley was short, had a light skin tone, looked a bit scrawny, and had long flowing black hair. Her clothing contained a pair of grey sneakers, blue jean shorts, and a dark green tee shirt with flowers outlined in white along the bottom. The girl was carrying four folders in her hands.

"You guys forgot to pick up your music before you left the band hall earlier. Andrew forgot his music to so I got that as well" smiled Ashley handing them their music. Albert, Ann, and Javi grabbed their folders from Ashley, Albert grabbing Andrew's music as well. "So what are you all up to?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out" said Diego.

"Why do you all look like you're in a hurry to get somewhere?" asked Trey.

"Well… We kinda are…" said Albert trying to find an explanation.

"So if you three don't mind…" began Javi.

"Hey guys, the computer lab is open if you want to go inside" said Jennifer walking down the hallway. She nonchalantly reached for the door handle, opened the door into the computer lab, and entered. The Digidestined just shrugged and entered followed by Trey, Diego, and Ashley. Once inside, they found Andrew and another boy typing away on one of the computers.

"Hi Ricky" waved Ashley.

"Finally, you guys show up" said Andrew.

"So what's going on you guys?" asked Diego.

"Well…" started Ann.

"Would you believe we're part of a selected group of teenagers chosen to defend a whole new world from the forces of darkness with our own digital partners?" suggested Javi.

"Not your best excess Javi" sighed Kayla. Before anybody could say anything else, the computer screen before Andrew began to glow brightly. Five small orbs darted out of the screen and flew around the room before flying into the hands of Trey, Diego, Ricky, Ashley, and Jennifer. The light began to subside revealing five new Digivices and D-Dexes. Trey's was colored a crimson red, Diego's goldenrod yellow, Ricky's a navy blue, Ashley's an olive green, and Jennifer's in black. The five of them began to overlook the items in their hand.

"What's this thing" asked Jennifer looking over the Digivice..

"Can we download stuff onto this?" questioned Ricky opening his D-Dex.

"Never a dull moment around here" said Albert.

"Wish we could explain things right now but we got work to do. All you need to know now is that you've been given a Digivice so you are now a Digidestined." explained Ann. The whole group then formed around the computer Andrew was typing on.

"Ok guys, Ricky helped me fix the Digital Gateway so I should be able to drop you off somewhere close to where Cody and TJ were transported. Something is up though, the gate is working fine but something is messing with the map making it difficult to locate anything in the Digital World." informed Andrew. Andrew finished his work on the computer and moved away from the screen. "You all remember what to do?"

"Of course" said Kayla pulling out her pink colored Digivice and holding it out to the computer screen.

"What are they doing?" asked Ashley

"Just like riding a bike. Hold down the fort until we get back" added Albert holding out his white colored Digivice.

"Ok, this is getting weird" spoke Ricky.

"Digiport Open" said the pair in unison. The computer screen began to glow brightly, pulling the trio through the screen.

"Where'd they go?" said Trey, spellbound at the sight he just saw.

"You're a Digidestined too now so if you just do what they did, you'll find out" giggled Ann.

"Now's the time to go if you want to, you're not scared are you?" laughed Javi.

"Scared? No way, don't even know the definition of the word" said Trey hold up his crimson Digivice "Digiport open!"

"I want to come to, Digiport open" added Jennifer suddenly holding out her black colored Digivice.

"You two aren't going without me" said Diego holding out his goldenrod colored Digivice. The trio was then sucked through the computer screen.

"We wanna go to" said Ricky and Ashley together. The two began to hold up their Digivices to the computer screen "Digiport…"

"Hold it!" said Ann suddenly.

"Why?" said Ricky sounding annoyed.

"The schools gonna close soon. We need to open another Digiport somewhere else so that the others can return safely and undetected." spoke Andrew.

"Where can we go so that they won't be discovered retuning home?" asked Ashley.

"We have a place" smiled Javi, Andrew, and Ann together.


	4. Ch 4 Drive

_**Ch. 4 Drive**_

Albert and Kayla were the first to land in the Digital World, back in their respectively colored uniforms. The duo appeared in the center of a forested region, surrounded by rows and rows of trees. The two looked around before hearing several loud thuds behind them. The two turned around and laughed at the sight of Trey, Jennifer, and Diego collecting themselves off the ground. The three of them now wore the same clothing as Albert and Kayla with the vest colors and symbols on the back varying. Jennifer's symbol was outlined in white so it could be seen on the black colored vest.

"We should have warned you about your first digital transport." laughed Albert.

"It's always a dozy" smiled Kayla.

"So this is the Digital World" said Trey examining his surroundings.

"This is so cool" added Diego admiring the area.

"We even got new clothing" continued Jennifer over looking her new outfit.

Albert pulled out his D-Dex and began scanning the area "Ok, let's see if I can pick up a signal from Cody and TJ. There we go, I'm getting a signal due east of here"

"Then let's go" said Trey heading off into the forest.

"Uh, Trey…" began Jennifer.

"Yeah?" said Trey turning toward Jennifer.

"East is that way" pointed out Kayla. Trey just laughed and started to walk in the direction Kayla was pointing to. The group made their way through the forest until they discovered an opening into a cave.

"Think they're in there" asked Diego.

"D-Dex says so" said Albert looking over his D-Dex. Albert began to lead the group into the cave. The team headed further and further into the cave until they found Cody, TJ, Agumon, Veemon, and Lopmon looking over the orbs on top of the stone shrine. The group inside the cave turned to see the new group entering the cave. Jennifer, Trey, and Diego caught sight of the three Digimon and stared at them spellbound. Lopmon didn't waste anything running over to her partner and leaping into her now open arms.

"Kayla!" exclaimed Lopmon landing in Kayla's open arms.

"Lopmon!" cried Kayla hugging her partner. Kayla wrapped her arms around Lopmon while Lopmon wrapped her long ears around Kayla. "I missed you so much"

"I missed you to. See, I told you we'd see each other again someday" spoke Lopmon.

"Hey, who are those kids?" asked Agumon.

"Yeah they look kinda funny with their mouths open like that" added Veemon.

"Oh, this is Trey, Diego, and Jennifer. They're just three of the five new Digidestined." introduced Albert. The three of them just stared at the Digimon in shock.

"New Digidestined?" questioned Cody.

"Yeah, we were all in the computer lab when suddenly these five orbs sprang out from the screen and entered their hands creating a new set of Digivices. You guys wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" asked Albert with a grin.

"Well maybe," said TJ walking over to the shrine. "Our Digimon found these orbs with our crest symbols in them and when we touched them, a bright light shot off from the center of the shrine sending out those five orbs of light you guys saw."

"Ok… that's new" said Albert walking over to the three clear orbs. Albert tried to pick up one of the orbs but found that he couldn't even budge the orb. "Is this thing glued down to the shrine or what?"

"We didn't have any trouble picking our up" said TJ picking up the orb with the Crest of Trust in the center.

"Maybe you need to work out more" laughed Cody picking up with orb with the Crest of Valor in the center easily.

"It's stuck" struggled Albert trying to pull out the orb. Cody tried his luck but was not able to budge the orb. TJ then decided to give pulling out the glass sphere a go but soon found that he too could not move it.

"I think this needs a woman's touch" smiled Kayla noticing the trio trying to pull out the orb.

"Great sis, can you tell us where we can find one?" mocked Cody.

"Oh shut up" glared Kayla trying to lift the orb. After using up all her strength trying to pull out the orb, Kayla just gave up with a sigh.

"Maybe one of them can lift the orb" suggested Lopmon.

"Yeah, maybe the new crest is for one of them" added Agumon. He then turned to see the new Digidestined trio still staring at them in disbelief "Hey you three, mind giving us a hand over here?"

"It's ok, they don't bite or anything" said Albert humorously. Trey, Jennifer, and Diego began to walk over to others, cautiously watching the Digimon.

"We need you three to try and lift that glass orb" said Veemon pointing to the final orb.

"Ok… We'll try…" said Jennifer. She tried to lift up the glass orb and found that she couldn't move the sphere. Diego then gave lifting the orb a try but just like the others, he couldn't even move it.

"Looks like it's my turn" said Trey. Trey grabbed the orb and to everyone's surprise, the orb was lifted into the air. Trey looked over the orb and smiled "That was easy, things light as a feather"

Before the group could say anything, the spot where the orb sat began to emit a crimson colored light. The light began to form the outline of a new creature then subsided when it took full shape. The creature resembled a small dragon of sorts with a teal and white colored body. The dragon like creature had a pair of small red colored wings on its back and red colored horn on the back of its head. The creature gave out a small yawn then looked over to Trey who was still holding the orb. The creature gave a quick cheer then jumped onto Trey, knocking him to the ground.

"It's you it's you it's you!" cheered the dragon.

"What's going on?" asked Trey in disbelief. To him, this was all a dream.

"Oh, I got a little excited there" said the creature helping Trey up off the ground "My name is Dracomon and I'm your very own Digimon partner"

"Digimon partner?" said Trey confused.

"Yep, you and me will be working together from here on out" smiled Dracomon.

"Ok… I have no idea what's going on but I'll go with it" shrugged Trey.

"You have a Digimon partner like we do. It'll be your job to help him Digivolve and fight other Digimon that have been corrupted be evil" explained TJ.

"Digivolve?" questioned Jennifer.

"It's when a Digimon changes forms to gain strength and other special abilities" informed Albert.

"We'll explain more as we get out of here. It'll also give a chance to tell you guys what's going on so far" spoke Cody. The group began to head out of the cave with Agumon and Cody filling in the others on what was happening in the Digital World so far. Once the team exited the cave, they began to move through the forest.

"That's terrible Lopmon" said Kayla.

"Who would want to capture other Digimon and make them their slaves?" though Albert aloud.

"So what do we do now?" asked Diego.

"I'd like to see where all those captured Digimon were heading." said Cody.

"They were all heading to another village close by to here. The village is pretty old as has a shrine overlooking a massive gorge" spoke Agumon.

"Then lets head there and check it out" said TJ.

"We might have a problem there" said Albert stopping. The group halted their movement and looked ahead to see a horde of other Digimon glaring at them. The row of Digimon in the front resembled rabbits but looked anything from gentle. They had grey fur with long fangs and teeth. The Digimon behind them looked a lot like wolfs with thin bodies, black bands wrapped around their legs, razor sharp teeth emerging from their long snouts, and red fur. All these Digimon had one feature in common though; their eyes were colored a solid black.

"Ok the rabbit like ones are called Gazimon and are at the rookie level. Their only attack is called Electric Stun Blast but they can dig quickly through the ground." said TJ reading the information from his D-Dex.

"Those wolf like ones are called Fangmon, champion level, and can use their claws to perform an attack called Snipe Steal." added Cody reading off his D-Dex.

"Hey, those were some of the captured Digimon" pointed out Lopmon.

"Why are they glaring at us like that?" asked Jennifer nervously.

"I think that they think we're their lunch" said Dracomon with a nervous laugh.

"Can you feel that Kayla?" asked Albert staring at the Digimon horde.

"Yup, I can feel the darkness coming from their hearts." said Kayla with a slight shiver.

"Don't think four rookies can take on a group that big" figured TJ.

"Time to get to work then, Agumon, Digivolve!" yelled Cody holding out his Digivice.

"Right!" nodded Agumon.

_Agumon Digivolved to… Gre…_

Agumon just stood there frozen "I can't… I can't Digivolve."

"Did you forget?" asked Cody.

"No, when I tried to change forms, I felt this dark energy rush through me and stop me" frowned Agumon.

"Veemon give it a try" said TJ pulling out his Digivice.

"You to Lopmon" added Kayla.

"Right" spoke the two in unison.

_Veemon Digivolved to… Veedr…_

_Lopmon Digivolved to… Turui…_

"We can't do it either" cried the two together. The group slowly took notice as the Fangmon and Gazimon started to surround them.

"Anybody have any plans now?" asked Diego.

"Trey, use that orb you got earlier to help me Digivolve." said Dracomon quickly.

"How?" asked Trey in confusion.

"I don't know how but I know you can do it" said Dracomon taking a battle stance. "You just have to be brave and the power from the orb will be unleashed"

"Be brave, that's something I can do" said Trey closing his eyes and tightening his grip of the orb and his Digivice. Trey could feel something rushing through him, slowly guiding his movements. Trey held out his Digivice then held his orb high into the air.

"Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!"


	5. Ch 5 Friends Both New and Old

_**Ch. 5 Friends Both New and Old**_

"Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!" cried out Trey. The orb in his hand began to glow brightly, giving off a crimson red colored light. Trey's Digivice began to change form as it began to glow along with the orb in his extended hand. The Digivice was more rectangular in form than its previously curved shape, had a circle shaped screen with several buttons just below it, and now had a strap so it could be wore on a belt loop. The grips on the Digivice were now white while the rest of the Digivice was colored a crimson red.

"Time to show you what I can really do Trey" said Dracomon as his body began to changes forms.

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to... Yasyamon_

Yasyamon appeared before the group in a bright flash of white light. The Digimon was tall with light blue and white colored skin, wore long grey pants that had several rips along the bottom , bore several green bands tied around his upper body, and now wore a white make over his face though bits of red hair could be seen sticking out from the edges of the mask. The Yasyamon had two wooden shields attached to his arms and held two wooden kendo swords in his hands.

"Drive Digivolution?" said Kayla confused.

"That's defiantly a new one" added Albert.

"So who wants to go first?" challenged Yasyamon. The Fangmon quickly lunged toward Yasyamon, trying to land a blow with their claws. Yasyamon dodged each attack and countered each attack with a strike from his wooden swords.

"That all you got? Let me show you what an attack really looks like, Double Strike" cried Yasyamon crossing his swords. Yasyamon quickly uncrossed his twin swords releasing a wave of energy that knock several of the Fangmon against the nearby trees.

"There are still a lot of them surrounding us" said Diego analyzing the situation.

"If you two have orbs just like Trey, how about you give that Drive Digivolution a try" suggested Jennifer.

"Worth a shot" said Cody readying his orb and Digivice.

"You guys ready?" asked TJ looking at Agumon and Veemon while lifting his orb into the air along with Cody.

"Let's do this" said the two Digimon in unison.

"Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate" shouted TJ and Cody together. Their orbs began to glow brightly along with their Digivice. Their Digivices began to change shape to resemble something similar to Trey's Digivice only now in their respective colors.

"This power is amazing" said Agumon as his body began to glow.

"Let's see what it does" added Veemon.

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to…Flamedramon_

Allomon resembled a tyrannosaurs with blue colored skin and red markings along his arms, legs, and body. The Digimon had several patches of tan colored fur emerging from his wrists, wore a red and white necklace with gold coins attached to it, and had two feathers sticking out of his wild red hair. Flamedramon looked very similar to Veemon but was much taller and had pieces of armor attached to his legs, arms, chest and head. The armor pieces had a flame like design imprinted on them along with several long blades emerging from the feet, arm, and head pieces.

"Let's see what this power can really do" said Flamedramon leaping into the air. A Fangmon tried to attack Flamedramon while he was suspended in the air but was knocked back with a swift kick.

"Time to get you guys to calm down for a bit, Fire Rocket" cried Flamedramon as flames began to surround his body. Flamedramon quickly rammed into one of the Fangmon sending in tumbling across the floor. Several of the Gazimon began to charge toward Allomon who just gave a slight smirk and batted them all away with his long tail.

"I think all you corrupt Digimon just need to back off, Dino Burst!" yelled Allomon opening his jaws wide. A stream of flames shot forth sending the Gazimon running into the forest in terror.

"That was awesome guys" congratulated Cody.

"I can't wait till I get my Digital partner now" spoke Diego.

"This power, it's amazing" said Allomon.

"Never felt like this before. It's like we're entirely different Digimon" said Veemon.

"So how did you like that Trey?" asked Yasyamon.

"That was so cool. I can't wait to see you do that again" smiled Trey.

Kayla began to shiver a bit then spoke out "I don't think we're done here yet"

"That darkness, it's still here" spoke Albert. The ground began to rumble and shake causing several massive cracks to appear along the ground. The split in the earth separated Albert, Kayla, Lopmon, and Jennifer from Diego, Trey, Yasyamon, TJ, Flamedramon, Cody, and Allomon.

"Cody!" screamed Kayla.

"Kayla!" yelled Cody. Cody looked around and noticed the cracks forming a circle around him and his group. "Albert, protect Kayla!"

"Alright, you guys better move before…" started Albert but it was too late. The ground below Cody and the others crumbled into a black abyss taking everyone standing inside the circle into its depths. The area soon stopped shaking leaving Albert and his group standing in a now silent forest

"Where'd they all go?" asked Jennifer.

"I… I don't know..." stuttered Albert.

"Cody! Big bro! Can you hear me!" yelled Kayla as she peered down into the abyss. All she got in return was silence.

"I think we've bigger problems guys" said Lopmon looking behind the group. They all turned to see more Fangmon and Gazimon approaching them slowly. It was as if the controlled Digimon wanted them to plummet into the gaping hole along with the others.

"Just run guys!" yelled Albert. The four of them sprinted trough the forest as fast as they could with all the Fangmon in hot pursuit. They ran and ran though the dense forest, trying to lose their pursuers. Kayla, Lopmon, and Jennifer started to gain the lead when suddenly a root caused Albert to trip and tumble across the ground.

"Albert!" cried the two together. Albert looked to see a Fangmon leap into the air and open its mouth wide, ready to attack the Digidestined. All he could do was brace for an imminent impact.

"Wild Bark!" echoed a familiar voice. A series of blue rings knocked the corrupted Digimon out of the air and against a tree, knocking it out. Albert looked up to see a wolf like creature with blue and white fur, a short curled tail, bore a yellow scar on its forehead, and wore a pair of red boxing gloves standing before him. The Digimon lent out one of his gloved hands to assist Albert off the ground. "Need a hand buddy?"

Albert reached for the gloved hand then pulled the Digimon close to him for a hug, a few tears going down his face "Gaomon… it's you… it's really you"

"Hey, where's that smile I always like to see" asked Gaomon tilting his head slightly. Albert let out a smile to please his partner for the moment. Gaomon just returned the smile with one of his own then let out a laugh "That's what I like to see"

"It's good to see you again Gaomon but we have a bit of a situation going on here" pointed out Kayla.

"Yeah I know which is why I'm here. Everybody grab each other's hands" instructed Gaomon. The group did as they were told and grabbed each other's hands then waited. Gaomon looked up to the sky and yelled "Ok Wizardmon, get us out of here!"

"Right, Magical Game" echoed Wizardmon's voice through the forest and with that, the group disappeared leaving the Fangmon to search the area in confusion.

--

Cody felt his head throbbing as he awoke from his slumber. When he tried to move, he found that his hands were bound together prohibiting any movement. Cody soon realized that he, Trey, Diego, and TJ were all hanging over the side of a cliff with their hands bound to a set of hooks above them. The hooks were connected to a series of bar and were the only thing keeping them from falling into the massive gorge below them. As he looked around he could see Agumon, Veemon, and Dracomon all unconscious in a set of cages on the land before them.

"Wha… Where are we?" spoke TJ as he began to gain consciousness.

"You guys really know how to initiate the new guys don't you" groaned Trey, his head aching with pain.

"What are we gonna do next, jump into a volcano?" smirked Diego.

"So you're all awake" laughed a sinister voice. The captured Digidestined looked to see five figures standing on the cliff side next to their captured partners. Each figure was wearing solid black armor with different colored trims in platinum, copper, bronze, silver, and gold. Along with the armor, the figures also wore black capes and hoods that covered up their faces bearing the same colored trim as on the armor. Two of the mysterious figures were obviously female while the other three were male.

"Funny, I didn't know that mere children were allowed into this world" sneered one of the figures.

"Guess you do learn something new every day" added another figure with a laugh.

"I hope you all enjoyed your visit here" spoke another one figures.

"Who are you guys?" glared Cody.

"Where are our manners?" bowed the central figure. Cody, TJ, Diego, and Trey just glared at the central figure as he began to speak again "We are simply known as the Digital Reapers and this will be the end of your trips to this world children. Time to say goodbye!"


	6. Ch 6 Evil’s New Face

_**Ch. 6 Evil's New Face**_

Albert, Gaomon, Kayla, Lopmon, and Jennifer were all transported to a new area in the Digital World bathed in sunlight. They were all brought to a mystical palace floating high above the Digital World. The palace had a main building in the center with several other towers and walk ways branching out front the central building. The building was constructed from white stone, had many green vines growing along the sides of the walls, and bore hundreds of stain glass windows on its surfaces.

"Welcome to the Palace of the Ancients Digidestined" greeted another Digimon gently floating down before the group. The Digimon wore red and yellow colored clothing, a long dark blue cape with many symbols written on the inside surface along with a blue wizards hat. The Digimon also carried a staff in his right hand that had a sun symbol on its end.

"Long time no see Wizardmon" smiled Kayla.

"Yes, it has been a long time. I see you have discovered a new Digidestined" spoke Wizardmon.

"Yep, this is Jennifer. She's one of the five new Digidestined" informed Lopmon.

"I knew of the five new Digidestined but have yet to meet one. Welcome Jennifer to our world" bowed Wizardmon.

"Thanks you, nice to see a courteous Digimon instead of those controlled one" said Jennifer.

"So what's going on with the Digital World Wizardmon? Why are all those Digimon being corrupted by darkness?" questioned Albert.

"I do not know all the answers myself children but I have been researching the events. Let us travel inside so that we may talk" said Wizardmon leading the team toward the central building. The group followed Wizardmon into the hall of the Palace of the Ancients. Inside they found two other Digimon waiting for them. One Digimon made Albert and Gaomon cringe for a moment.

"Witchmon" growled the pair as they saw another Digimon dressed in mostly red robes. The Digimon carried a broom stick and wore a long black cape along with the red cloak and red witch's hat. Witchmon saw the group enter then got on her broom stick and flew over to them.

"It is alright, she is on our side now" said Wizardmon.

"Yes, without Myotismon to order me around, I found that I could do so much more. I can even help you Digidestined out by making potions and looking into my crystal ball" said Witchmon showing the group her crystal ball.

The other Digimon took notice of the group entering the room and walked over to them. This Digimon looked almost exactly like Wizardmon but his clothing colors were mostly sky blue and white. Rather than having a sun mark on the end of his staff, this Digimon's staff had a snow flake mark on the end. "I am Sorcerymon, keeper of all records in this palace."

"Nice to meet you" said Kayla.

"So you three live here now?" asked Lopmon.

"Yes, the three of us help the Digimon Sovereigns watch over the Digital World through the resent problems have brought much concern to them. All the darkness spreading over the Digital World has severely weakened their powers. To begin, those spreading the darkness are simply known as the Digital Reapers" informed Wizardmon.

"Digital Reapers?" said Gaomon in confusion

"Currently, the blanket of shadows spread by these Digital Reapers has covered more than half of our world. Any Digimon caught under this shadow loses the ability to Digivolve by natural means. This prompted the Digimon Sovereigns to release a set of power cores called Digital Drive Cores out into the Digital World." added Sorcerymon.

"The release of the Digital Drive Cores also broke a very powerful seal over a set of hidden Digivices. It was when the leader of the first set of Digidestined lifted his Digital Drive Core that the five new Digivices were released and five new Digidestined were selected." continued Witchmon.

"That explains the new Digivices at least. Do those Digital Drive Cores help with the Drive Digivolution?" questioned Albert.

"Yes, the cores allow a selected Digimon to bypass the darkness that prohibits natural Digivolution. With the release of the cores and Digivices, five new tags and crests have been brought into our world." said Wizardmon.

"The Crests of Bravery, Honor, Verity, Vigor, and Innocence have been created. I believe the colors for these in the same order are crimson red, navy blue, olive green, goldenrod yellow, and black" spoke Sorcerymon.

"So then I have the Crest of Innocence and Trey has the Crest of Bravery?" asked Jennifer.

"Yes, just as Albert's Crest is Purity and Kayla's Virtue" answered Witchmon.

"There is much to be done children. You must locate all the Digital Drive Cores along with the tags and crests of the newly selected Digidestined. When all these powers have been located, we can begin to purify the Digital World and return it to its former glory. Before we send you off Digidestined, we have a gift for each of you" began Wizardmon. Wizardmon, Witchmon, and Sorcerymon all reached behind their capes and pulled out the Digital Drive Cores for Albert, Kayla, and now Jennifer. The symbol for the Crest of Innocence had four crescent moons attached to each other in a circle with a four pointed star connecting the four moons in the center.

"Thank you guys" said Albert taking his Digital Drive Core from Sorcerymon. Kayla grabbed her core from Witchmon leaving Jennifer to receive her core from Wizardmon. Once Jennifer held her core, a beam of black colored light shot out from the orbs and dashed around the room. The beam of light hit the ground before Jennifer forming a new Digimon. This new Digimon closely resembled a light pink rabbit with four long ears. The Digimon had yellow crescent moons on her arms, body and forehead, wore a pink ribbon around her neck with a moon medallion attached to it, and had midnight blue marks or her ears.

"I'm Lunamon, nice to meet you" spoke the Digimon sweetly as she looked up at Jennifer.

"Oh, you're so cute" admired Jennifer.

"Thank you… um…" began Lunamon.

"Jennifer, my name is Jennifer"

"Digidestined, there is an urgent matter that you must attend to. The Digital Reapers have captured four of the other Digidestined and their partners." informed Witchmon looking into her crystal ball.

"Then let's go help them." spoke Albert.

"I'll teleport you to their location. Good luck children, we will continue to search for more ways to stop the Digital Reapers while you work on locating the Digital Drive Cores." said Wizardmon lifting his staff.

"Thanks for all the help, we won't let you down" smiled Kayla.

"We know you won't, Magical Game" cried Wizardmon. The three Digidestined and their partners were warped out of the Palace of the Ancients and sent to rescue their fellow Digidestined.

--

"So children, any last requests before we send you to your doom" laughed one of the figures.

"Yeah, can you stop talking like a comic book villain, it's getting annoying" smirked Trey and prompting the others to laugh.

"Insolent brats" growled one of the figures.

"How about you give us your names and show us your true faces?" said TJ.

"I see no harm in that seeing as how you'll never see this world again, I'm Corvus" spoke the figure with the platinum trim armor lowering his hood. Corvus was the tallest of the group with tan colored skin, and had short brown colored hair. The left side of Corvus's face was covered with tribal markings in platinum.

"I'm Lyra" spoke the figure with the copper armor trim. Lyra was the shortest in the group of Digital Reapers with long black hair, light skin tone, and bore copper colored tribal markings along her forehead.

"Fornax is the name" said the figure with the bronze trim lowering his head. Fornax was the burliest of the group with a dark colored skin tone and no hair to speak of on his head. The lower part of his face had bronze colored tribal markings covering it.

"Ara" said the figure with the silver trimmed armor lowering her hood. Ara looked to be the youngest of the group with her long blonde hair tied back into a pony tail. The right side of her face was covered with more tribal markings in silver.

"And I am Crux my dear children" spoke the final figure with the gold trimmed armor lowering his hood. Crux was by far the oldest of the group shown by his wrinkled skin and messy grey hair. Unlike his fellow Digital Reapers, Crux bore no markings on his face.

"Don't worry children, you're Digimon will become our slaves rather than join your plummet to the bottom of this gorge." spoke Lyra.

"Don't even think about laying a finger on them" glared Cody.

"You try anything funny and you'll have to answer to us" backed up Trey.

"How do you propose to stop us being tied up like that?" asked Ara with a laugh.

" We got reinforcements coming soon" grinned Diego.

"They should be getting here any second now" added TJ.

"Oh really?" asked Fornax.

"Really" assured Agumon. Agumon, Veemon, and Dracomon had regained consciousness and were grinning at the Digital Reapers through the bars on their cadges. The Digital Reapers were suddenly caught off guard by a bright flash of white light.

"Speaking of…" began Cody. The Digital Reapers turned around to see Albert, Gaomon, Kayla, Lopmon, Jennifer, and the newly summoned Lunamon behind them looking ready for a battle.

"And you pests are?" asked Corvus.

"The reinforcements" smiled Kayla. The three of them pulled out their Digital Drive Cores and lifted them into the air causing them to glow. They then pulled out their Digivices and held them outward before their bodies.

"Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate"

"This will be interesting" laughed Crux.


	7. Ch 7 At the Days End

_**Ch. 7 At the Days End**_

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

_Lunamon Drive Digivolved to… Rinkmon_

_Gaomon Drive Digivolved to… Moosemon_

Bucchiemon looked to be very gentle taking on the form of a rabbit of sorts. The Digimon had a white body and wore hot pink gloves and boots, a long ribbon tied in a bow around her neck with a small silver medallion attached to it, and a helmet with two long ribbons attached to it. The end of each ribbon had a heart like pattern on it. Rinkmon resembled a figure skater wearing a blue and white body suit. The Digimon's wore blue figure skating boots, blue gloves with a yellow blade, a white cape, and a blue helmet that covered most of her face. Moosemon had a closer appearance to an elk then that of a moose with white fur and blue stripes. He had a blue mane, more blue patches of fur on his legs, and a set of large antlers colored blue and light blue. Albert, Kayla, and Jennifer all now held the newer version of the Digivice in their hands.

"These are your reinforcements" laughed Fornax.

"A bunny, a figure skater, and a moose" said Ara roaring with laughter.

"Even we know that's lame" added Corvus. The five Digital Reapers laughed and laughed till Crux began to calm them down.

"Stop laughing at our friends" growled Jennifer

"That's not very nice you know" barked Kayla.

"Oh yes, yes little girl. How very rude of us to laugh. How about I introduce several of our friends to you?" spoke Crux. Crux then snapped his fingers causing a large puff of black smoke to appear out of the ground. Several Fangmon stepped out from the black smoke followed by several other Digimon. These Digimon were very tall and appeared to be made out of solid rock wearing a black helmet over the top part of their heads. The rock seemed to be held together by a series of grey ropes tied all over its body.

"Golemon are champion level Digimon that are nothing but mindless puppets. Their Rock Punch attack can really put the hurt on their opponents." read Kayla from her D-Dex.

"Pulverize them" ordered Lyra.

"Just try it" challenged Moosemon. All the Golemon began to charge for the Digimon trio at full speed.

"The bigger they are the harder they fall, Talon Arrow" cried Bucchiemon pointing her finger toward the incoming Golemon. The twin appendages on her hat took aim at the Golemon then shot off several pink colored arrows in the shape of hearts. The arrows cut straight through the Golemon hauling their movements. Several Fangmon then began to sprint toward the three Digimon, making up for the Golemon's failure.

"You're fast but…" began Rinkmon skating toward the charging Fangmon. Rinkmon began to spin around and around while skating toward the Fangmon creating a mini cyclone around her, "…I'm faster, Spinning Cutter!" Several energy blades glowing in a bright blue color then shot out from the cyclone, hitting every Fangmon spot on and sending them rolling across the floor.

"Four on one doesn't seem very fair to me" observed Moosemon as several Golemon began to move directly for him. Moosemon began to lower his antlers and charge straight toward the Golemon with his antlers glowing.

"Horn Blade" cried Moosemon plowing straight through the Golemon and throwing them all into one big pile. Moosemon looked at the pile of unconscious Golemon and smirked, "You should have gotten more to even the odds."

"Talon Arrow" yelled Bucchiemon using her attack to knock several of the Fangmon into the pile of Golemon.

"Spinning Cutter" added Rinkmon throwing the remaining Fangmon into the pile. To Albert's and Kayla's surprise, all the fallen Digimon began to melt away into some black colored substance. The black goo then began to fade away into the ground.

"That was just…" started Albert.

"…freaky" finished Kayla with disgust.

"Guess you guys underestimated us" smiled Jennifer not noticing the melting Digimon.

"I must admit, those three pest are strong." growled Crux.

"Yes but they are weak…" grinned Ara. Ara then pulled out a small dagger from behind her cloak and walked over to the single rope that held Cody up. She then placed the dagger right next to the rope. "Who want to see this one go first?"

"Cody!" screamed Kayla seeing Ara threaten to cut his rope.

"Don't even think it" snarled Moosemon.

"I promise that'll be the last thing you ever do" glared Albert.

"I'll make you a deal, surrender and I won't send this one to his doom" laughed Ara. "It'd be a shame to see him go, he's kinda cute"

"You're a sick, sick lady" spoke Jennifer.

"So what'll it be then? His life is in your hands" grinned Ara.

"That's just low" said Diego.

"You can't win so you all have to resort to cheating" added Trey with disgust.

"You cowards" barked TJ.

"Oh shut up or we'll begin with one of you instead" sneered Lyra.

"Do what you gotta do guys. Don't worry about what happens to me" said Cody showing no signs of fear.

"Think we can pull off a quick rescue?" whispered Albert to Moosemon.

"Maybe, Rinkmon would have to move fast though and we'd need a distraction" replied Moosemon in a low voice.

"Don't worry, speed is my thing" spoke Rinkmon softly.

"What are you brats mumbling about over there?" yelled Corvus.

"Make your decision or we'll make it for you" spoke Fornax.

"Before we tell you what we decided, what happened to the Digimon? Why did they just… melt away?" questioned Albert.

"Why must you children ask so many questions? Let's just say that the Digimon we have captured and converted become more organic… so to speak" answered Lyra.

"Organic?" said Jennifer confused.

"What part of 'so to speak' did you not comprehend?" asked Corvus sounding annoyed.

"You'd better leave the Digital World alone… now!" yelled Albert. Before the Digital Reapers could react, Rinkmon had already reached Ara and knocked her away from Cody. Moosemon and Bucchiemon then charged for the remaining Digital Reapers, causing them to flee to a new location, away from their prisoners. Albert, Kayla, and Jennifer then caught up with their partner and defended their captured friends.

"Clever… very clever…" smiled Crux "I guess you three win for today but I'm sure we'll be seeing you again"

A black cloud of smoke burst up from beneath the Digital Reapers then faded away leaving the Digidestined standing alone by the cliff side. After freeing the captured Digidestined and their Digimon, Moosemon, Rinkmon, and Bucchiemon all returned to their rookie forms.

"That was crazy guys." said Trey.

"How'd you know that would work?" asked Dracomon.

"Here's the beauty of it, we didn't" grinned Albert.

"Yep, that's the Digidestined way. Winging everything and hoping for the best," laughed TJ.

"It's the best plan sometimes" added Veemon.

"Think we can go find my Digimon partner?" asked Diego.

"Sorry man but it's getting late" said Cody.

"We need to get you guys home before it gets too late. Our worlds times are the same you know" pointed out Agumon.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. It's gotta be late back home by now" said Albert looking to the now setting sun.

"How do we get home?" asked Jennifer.

"Well…" began Gaomon with a smile. Albert, Cody, TJ, and Kayla all held up their Digivices to the sky. Trey, Jennifer, and Diego saw what they were doing and followed their movements.

"Digiport Open!"

--

The group in the Digital World all appeared back in the human world once their transport was complete. They recollected themselves and examined their surrounds. Trey, Jennifer, and Diego had no clue where they were but for Cody, TJ, Albert, and Kayla, they were back to their favorite spot in all of Lakeview. They were now standing in a well hidden clearing next to the lake side. The placid waters made this place silent. The setting sun's golden light could be seen reflecting off the water's surface.

"Welcome back guys" said Javi seeing the group return. Javi, Ann, Andrew, Ricky, Ashley, and three other people were standing behind a laptop computer currently sitting on a stump.

"We got a few things to get you guys caught up on" said Cody.

"Yeah, things in the Digital World have gotten a whole lot crazier." added TJ.


	8. Ch 8 Update

_**Ch. 8 Update**_

"You could have waited for us before you went to the Digital World" spoke a female figure in the group. This figure was of a fair height and shape, wore thin silver glasses, and had dirty blond hair that reached her shoulders. She wore white tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a pale blue shirt with purple lines going around the sleeves.

"Sorry Winona but it was kind of an emergency" said Kayla.

"Well, at least you guys got back in one piece. From what Andrew told us, something is definitely wrong back in the Digital World" said another female figure. This girl had dark brown hair, light colored skin, and was in a fair shape. She wore white sneakers, blue jean shorts, and a sky blue tee shirt with white markings along the bottom of the shirt.

"Trust us on this one Brandi, the Digital World isn't what it used to be" sighed TJ.

"So what is going on there?" asked the final girl in the group. This girl had long black hair tied back with a blue ribbon, had an average body type, and wore a pair of glasses. She wore black sneakers, blue jeans, and an orange shirt with red and yellow strips going along the left side of the shirt.

"Honestly Michelle, we have no idea ourselves other than there are five nut jobs calling themselves the Digital Reapers running around and capturing Digimon" answered Cody.

"So let's start with the beginning of what we know. Who are the newest Digidestined to join the team? We already met Ricky and Ashley so who are you three?" questioned Brandi.

"Oh, I'm Trey and this is Jennifer and Diego" introduced Trey.

"Anything else we need to know about you guys?" added Winona.

"Uh… my partner's named Dracomon and Jennifer's partner is called Lunamon." answered Trey.

"Well that's good, you already met you're partners at least" smiled Javi.

"We were able to learn a thing or two from this guy named Wizardmon" injected Jennifer.

"Apparently, there are these clear orbs scattered around the Digital World called Digital Drive Cores that will allow our Digimon to 'Drive' Digivolve. Once you activate the drive core, you get an updated Digivice." spoke Kayla holding out her Digivice. Albert, Cody, Trey, Jennifer, and TJ held out their Digivices so that the group could see the new design.

"Since there are five new Digidestined, there are now five more tags and crests out there. A friend of Wizardmon told us that these crests are the Crest of Bravery which we know belongs to Trey, the Crest of Innocence which belongs to Jennifer, Diego should have the Crest of Vigor since his color in the Digital World was Goldenrod, there's the Crest of Honor which should go to Ricky since he got a navy blue colored Digivice, and finally there's the Crest of Verity which goes to Ashley" informed Albert.

"So what's the deal with these Digital Reapers?" asked Andrew.

"The Digital Reapers go around capturing Digimon and make them their slaves. Any area attacked by them is covered in shadows preventing any Digimon in that area from Digivolving." said Jennifer.

"Which is why we need Drive Digivolution, it allows are partner to bypass that force that is blocking natural Digivolution." added Kayla.

"There's something else about these Digital Reapers, they look human and have a set tribal markings covering part of their face" continued Cody.

"That and they have full control over the Digimon they capture. Weird thing is, when a controlled Digimon is defeated, they just turn into puddles of black slime rather than bursting into data" said TJ.

"You mean that's not how it's supposed to happen?" said Diego confused.

"Oh no, Digimon who are normally defeated in battle turn into data which is then sent to a place called the Village of Beginnings where it is reconstructed to create a Digi-Egg" explained Michelle.

"So when do we get to go to the Digital World?" asked Ricky.

"Yeah, that place sounds exciting" said Ashley with excitement.

"Well it's already getting late so not until tomorrow… what's this?" questioned Winona looking into her laptop. She then clicked on a small letter shaped icon on the bottom of screen. Suddenly, her laptop screen began to glow brightly causing the teams D-Dexes to grow and change shape. Once the light subsides, the group over looked their new D-Dexes.

"I think I'm gonna like this update" smiled Javi playing with his new D-Dex. The D-Dexes were now thinner than their previous forms and had a touch screens on one side with a small camera embedded on the back. The touch screen allowed the user to view maps, examine Digimon data, and receive messages from any other Digidestined. The back of each D-Dex was colored silver with each Digidestine's crest symbols engraved in the back in their respective colors.

"We can take pictures now" exclaimed Ann snapping a few pictures with her D-Dex.

"I really don't think that's what we're supposed to use that for" said Winona.

"I hate to ruin this moment guys but, what about our partners? Are they ok?" interjected Michelle with a look of concern.

"Your guess would be as good as ours Michelle. We won't know until we go and find them" replied TJ.

"I wouldn't worry about it though, if Gaomon, Lopmon, Veemon, and Agumon were all safe, then they all should be to" smiled Albert.

"It's getting late guys. We'd better start heading home before our parents start worrying. Anybody who can make the trip to the Digital World tomorrow should meet here." instructed Cody. The group nodded then began to head through the forest and back to their homes.

--

All the Digidestined met at the lake side the next afternoon ready for their trip back to the Digital World. Winona then set up her laptop on a nearby tree stump and opened up the digital gateway screen.

"Our main mission right now is to find the Drive Cores and collect any info on the Digital Reapers" began Cody. "We'll break up into group of five and explore the Digital World."

"Wait a second, if we all go, whose going to watch over the laptop?" asked Michelle.

"I've check the weather and everything looks clear for today, nobody knows about this spot so we can leave the laptop here without any worries of it being stolen, and I bought an external power generator so that the battery life will last for a very long time" replied Winona attaching a small generator to the back of the laptop.

"Ok then, so who's going with who?" asked Ann.

"Right now, only me, Cody, Albert, Kayla, Trey, and Jennifer have partners who can move to the drive level so us six will be split up and go with the others. That way if we run into trouble, we should be good." explained TJ.

"Alright then" said Winona opening up a gateway on her laptop screen "This gateway leads to an area called Sun Ridge, its close by the area you guys were at yesterday so hopefully you can collect some more information on the Digital Reapers from there"

"I'll take Kayla and head there along with Diego, Michelle, and Andrew." spoke Cody. The group agreed with this idea and split. This group assembled before the laptop and held out their Digivices to the screen.

"Digiport open!" called out Diego sending the team through the screen in a bright flash of white light.

"I'd like a second group to go check on the Village of Beginnings to make sure things are still safe there and see if Leomon has learned anything else about the state of the Digital World" said Winona selecting a new location on her laptop screen.

"Me and Jennifer can go check that place out with Javi, Brandi, and Ashley" said Albert. The group split off once again and gathered before the computer screen. They then pulled out their Digivices and held them up to the computer screen.

"Digiport open!" cried Ashley warping her group to the Digital World.

"Finally, the rest of us are gonna check out this region" said Winona selecting a third location on her laptop screen "The Forest Ruins seem like a good place to start looking for the drive cores."

"So then you, me, Trey, Ann, and Ricky are gonna do some treasure hunting then" smirked TJ. The last group assembled before the screen and held out their Digivices.

"Digiport open!" called out Ricky sending the final group to the Digital World. The three Digidestined teams had their missions and were en route to the Digital World.

--

"We have some visitors" sneered Crux. All five Digital Reapers were standing together in one of the darkest corners of the Digital World.

"Consider them gone Crux" laughed Corvus.

"We'll go dispose of them while collecting more Digimon for our little experiments" added Lyra with a smirk.

"Just leave everything to us" finished Fornax. The three Digital Reapers then vanished in a swirl of black smoke leaving Crux and Ara.

"I hope they don't ruff those boys up to much. Some of them were cute." giggled Ara.

"Come Ara, we have work to do" spoke Crux and with that, they vanished into the darkness around them.


	9. Ch 9 Blazing Sun

_**Ch. 9 Blazing Sun**_

The team of Cody, Kayla, Andrew, Michelle, and Diego were all warped to their selected location in the Digital World, Sun Ridge. The region they were sent to was filled with tall mountain peaks colored in various shades of red with a terrain made out of mostly red soil and rock. Michelle and Andrew now wore their Digital World uniforms, Michele's in orange and Andrew's in grey.

"Feels good to be back" smiled Michelle.

"Looks like this place is still safe since it's still bathed in sunlight" examined Andrew while looking up to the grand blue sky above.

"Hey guys!" echoed a voice. The group turned to see Agumon and Lopmon running over to their partners.

"Hey you two" greeted Michelle.

"Hi Michelle, long time no see" said Lopmon.

"While you guys were home, we decided to find a few old friends of ours. They should be here right about…" began Agumon looking over to a few mountain cliffs.

"Andrew!" yelled one voice with excitement.

"Michelle!" added another voice with a tone of joy. The group directed their attention to where Agumon was looking to see two other Digimon sprinting toward the group. One of the Digimon resembled a raptor colored a bright red with white on his body. The Digimon had several black markings all over his body along with a set of odd symbols on his stomach region. The other Digimon had a yellow colored body with an egg like symbol on his chest and had large horn sticking out of its head. The Digimon wore a pelt on his back colored light blue with darker blue stripes.

"Guilmon!" cried Andrew.

"Gabumon!" exclaimed Michelle. The two ran over to their partners and hugged them tightly.

"It seems like forever since we last saw you guys" said Gabumon.

"Did you bring us anything to eat?" asked Guilmon innocently.

"Not this time buddy" laughed Andrew "Next time for sure"

Guilmon frowned for a bit then looked over the rest of the team. Once he noticed the new guy in the group, he began to sniff him like a dog "Who's the new guy?"

"Oh, this is Diego. He's one of the newer Digidestined" introduced Kayla.

"Newer Digidestined?" questioned Gabumon.

"It's a long story" said Michelle.

"Have you guys ever heard of something called a Digital Drive Core around here or a group calling themselves the Digital Reapers?" asked Cody.

"Never heard of the Digital Drive Core but we've heard about the Digital Reapers" answered Gabumon.

"Yeah, their nothing but bullies" growled Guilmon.

"What now bro?" asked Kayla turning to her big brother.

"We'd better start looking around and see if we can find anything useful" replied Cody. The group began to move through Sun Ridge, exploring its vast mountain peaks. The group kept on moving along the mountain sides until they hear a soft, beeping noise. They all pulled out their D-Dexes to find that they were the source of the sounds.

"This is a new feature" said Michelle looking over his D-Dex.

"The D-Dex is picking up a signal from a small temple up ahead" spoke Andrew.

"Think it's a drive core?" asked Agumon.

"Only one way to find out" answered Cody. The group began to travel to the source of the signal until they found a small temple embedded into one of the mountain sides. The temple was made from yellow colored stone and displayed the image of the sun along its surfaces in gold.

"The signal's coming from there" said Diego.

"Guys… I think something is up…" started Michelle looking upward. Many dark clouds began to appear over head blocking out the sunlight and covering the area in shadows.

"Oh great, they're here" growled Gabumon.

"Who's here?" questioned Andrew.

"That would be me" The group soon saw Fornax standing on one of the higher mountain sides wickedly grinning at the Digidestined.

"What do you want Fornax?" barked Cody.

"I had some business to attend to here and since I saw you brats walking through my peaks, I figured I'd teach you all a lesson for trespassing" spoke Fornax. Fornax then snapped his fingers causing a horde of Digimon to appear above him in a puff of black smoke. The Digimon appeared to be dragonflies but looked very vicious. They were colored a pale yellow, had sharp looking fangs and claws, with large green eyes, and thin wings that flapped rapidly to keep them afloat.

"Yanmamon, champion level, insect type Digimon with an attack called Thunder Ray" read Kayla from her D-Dex.

"Make a break for the temple guys and find out what that signal is. Me and Kayla will keep these guys busy" ordered Cody.

"Right" nodded Diego, Andrew, and Michelle along with their partners. They then took off running toward the mountain side temple.

"Stop them Yanmamon" commanded Fornax.

"You're gonna have to get through us first" smiled Lopmon.

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

Several of the Yanmamon began to swarm overhead with their wings glowing in a bright yellow color. They then released their attacks, striking Allomon on his head with several small bolts of lightning. Allomon let out a loud roar in pain then glared at the insects over head.

"You gonna pay for that one. Dino Burst" cried out Allomon sending a stream of flames flying through several Yanmamon. The Digimon that were struck with the attack turned into small blobs of black slime before hitting the ground with a loud splat.

"I hate to do this to you all but… Talon Arrow!" yelled Bucchiemon shooting down several more Yanmamon with her glowing pink arrows.

"Plenty more where that came from" sneered Fornax snapping his fingers and summoning another swarm of Yanmamon.

"We're gonna need back up pretty soon" growled Cody to himself. Fornax just grinned at the two Digidestined and their Digimon while the next swarm of Yanmamon began to charge for them.

--

"Signals getting stronger guys" said Andrew looking over his D-Dex. Andrew and his group had reached the sun temple and had begun to explore the interior of the temple. They soon came upon a small alter in the shape of a sun set in the center of a circular room. A clear orb with a golden rod yellow colored symbol hovering inside it sat quietly in the center of the altar. The symbol looked like a small flame with three vertical lines below it.

"That must be a Digital Drive Core" examined Andrew.

"And it must be yours" added Gabumon looking over at Diego.

"How do you know that?" asked Diego.

"It matches the same symbol on the back of your vest, D-Dex, and it's the same color as your vest." laughed Guilmon.

"Go ahead and pick it up so we can help the others. With this area being covered by shadows, our partners can't do much to help Agumon and Lopmon." said Michelle.

"Alright" nodded Diego walking over to the altar. Diego reached out and grabbed the orb, lifting it out from its resting place. Before long, the orb began to glow, releasing a ray of goldenrod colored light to dart around the room before hitting the altar and taking shape. The Digimon that began to appear resembled a small, lion cub like creature with red orange colored fur. The Digimon had a patch of yellow fur on its front for a mane and wore a set of wrist bands with a head band on its forehead. The Digimon's headband and tail had a small flame burning from them.

"The names Coronamon and you must be my partner. You got a name?"

"It's Diego, glad to finally meet you"

"Cool" said Coronamon. "So what do we do now?"

"I have no idea, I'm still trying to believe this is all happening" responded Diego.

"We need to go help out our friends" imputed Guilmon. The group nodded then headed for the exit to the temple. Once outside, they could see Allomon and Bucchiemon being attacked by a swarm of Yanmamon.

"Looks like your friends need help; I think you're supposed to say something to help me Digivolve though. What was it again…" said Coronamon in thought.

"Don't worry, I already know what to say" grinned Diego holding out his Digivice and holding out his drive core into the air. "Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!"

"That's it" smiled Coronamon as his body began to glow and change shape.

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

Bullmon's appearance shook the entire region. The Digimon closely resembled a bull with brown colored fur and wore dark blue armor with a gold trim over his body and hooves. The Digimon had two long horns on his head along with a long red cape flowing from the back of his helmet piece. Diego now proudly gripped his new Digivice as he over looked his partner's new form.

"Another Drive Digimon?" questioned Fornax seeing Bullmon.

"Looks like Diego found his partner" observed Cody.

"Time to get to work" said Bullmon. He began to charge directly for the swarm of Yanmamon over head. Bullmon's horns began to glow brightly in white as he used the momentum from his dash to leap into the air and cut through the swarm "Matador Dash!"

Bullmon burst straight through the Yanmamon, destroying more than half the swarm with one single charge. Bullmon continued his attack and rammed his horns into the side of the mountain that Fornax was standing on. Fornax leapt off the mountain side and landed before the Digidestined team. He then smirked a bit and snapped his fingers, recalling all his Digimon.

"Well this was fun but I must take my leave. Until we meet again Digidestined" spoke Fornax and with that, both him and his Digimon swarm disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The Digidestined regroup while the Drive form Digimon reverted back to their rookie level forms.

"Looks like we have another cute Digimon to add to our team" giggled Kayla as she looked over Coronamon.

"I really like her" smiled Coronamon. "Anyway, I'm here to help whenever you need it Diego"

"Thanks partner" said Diego.

"Time to head back guys, it's getting late" said Cody looking at the time on his D-Dex.

"And we're coming with you guys. Not much we can do here without you guys helping us" said Agumon.

"So we're supposed to hide you guys how?" asked Diego.

"Trust us, you'll find a way" smiled Michelle. The group laughed then held out their Digivices to the sky, ready to head on home for the day.


	10. Ch 10 Ninja Strike

_**Ch. 10 Ninja Strike**_

"So this is the Digital World, looks kinda like our world" said Ricky examining the vast forest surrounding him and his group. The team of TJ, Trey, Ann, Ricky, and Winona were transported to the center of a great forest. The tree branches overhead limited the amount of sunlight entering the forest with their broad leaves. Ann now wore her yellow colored, Digital World uniform while Winona wore her purple colored one.

"Yep, so where do we start looking?" asked Trey turning to TJ.

"Our best bet is to find those ruins Winona mentioned before we came here. So where to Winona?" said TJ looking over to Winona who was playing with her updated D-Dex.

"Well… according to the D-Dex, the Forest Ruins are just a little ways north of here" replied Winona.

"Then let's get moving" smiled Ann. The group began to head northward in search of the Forest Ruins. They kept moving forward until the group heard something approaching them. The sound of branches breaching on the ground and the leaves rustling above halted the group's advancement through the dense forest.

"Ann!" chirped a voice from overhead. Ann looked up to see a small, hawk like Digimon flying toward her quickly. The hawk had crimson colored feathers with white feathers covering its face. The Digimon wore a black headband around her head with a small orange feather attached to the end of it.

"Hawkmon!" yelled Ann catching her Digimon with a warm embrace.

"It's been awhile hasn't it?" spoke another voice from behind. Winona turned to see a tall Digimon resembling a fox appear behind the group. The Digimon had yellow and white fur with purple markings on its legs and wore purple gloves on its arms.

"Yes it has Renamon" said Winona gently.

"Hi Trey, did you miss me?" asked Dracomon approaching the group with Veemon.

"Maybe just a little" smirked Trey.

"Found their partners?" asked TJ looking at Veemon.

"Yep, we're gonna need all the help we can get to defeat those Digital Reapers" answered Veemon.

"I see we have a few new additions to the team" observed Renamon.

"Who are the new guys?" asked Hawkmon.

"Oh, this is Trey and Ricky. They're two of the new Digidestined." introduced Ann.

"Have you guys heard of the Digital Reapers or something called a Digital Drive Core?" asked Trey.

"The Digital Reapers have not been spotted in this forest yet. Many Digimon are using this place to hide from their pursuit" spoke Renamon.

"Never heard of a Digital Drive Core but there are a few rumors going around about a gem inside the Forest Ruins" added Hawkmon.

"Then let's go check that place out. That gem is probably a Digital Drive Core" said TJ. The group nodded and continued their trip to the ruins. After traversing through a rough path covered with roots and brush, they finally reached the ruins. The ruins consisted of several stone structures emerging from the green grass below covered with vines all surrounding an open area. At the far end of the ruins was a short, stone tower with a glass orb sitting at the very top.

"It's a drive core!" exclaimed Veemon. The group ran over to the gem and examined it. The orb contained a navy blue colored symbol in the center of it shaped like a six pointed ninja star with curved edges.

"Pick it up Ricky, it's yours" said Trey.

"How do you know it's his?" asked Winona.

"Trust us on this one, it's his" replied Dracomon.

"Ok, here goes nothing… I hope" gulped Ricky placing his hands on the gem. Ricky quickly lifted his orb off its resting place sending a beam of navy blue light bursting into the sky. A new Digimon slowly began to appear from behind the stream of navy blue light. The Digimon resembled an owl with dark brown feathers covering most of its body with purple feathers on its chest. The Digimon had large yellow eyes surrounded by red feathers with more red feathers on its tail. The owl like Digimon starched out its wings as the light began to subside.

"Greetings, my name is Falcomon and you must be my human partner" spoke Falcomon.

"Yeah… my name's Ricky"

"Ricky is it? Well then Ricky, I…" began Falcomon.

"Well isn't this sweet, you've all been untied with their partners" laughed a voice suddenly through the forest. The sky overhead grew dark as clouds began to appear and block out the sun. The group turned to see one of the Digital Reapers standing on a tree branch above the team.

"What are you doing here Corvus?" growled TJ.

"I should be asking you that same question. Good thing you're all here though. Your Digimon will be excellent additions to the reapers already vast collection of Digimon" sneered Corvus.

"Just try and take them" challenged Trey.

"Don't worry child, I will." laughed Corvus. The Digital Reaper snapped his fingers summoning a horde of Digimon from a puff of black smoke. The Digimon looked similar to wasps with yellow bodies, blue stripes going around their hind ends, and large purple wings flapping rapidly. A long red stinger could be seen protruding from the Digimon's backside.

"Flymon, insect Digimon at the champion level. That stinger on their backs allows them to perform an attack called Brown Stinger" said Winona scanning the Flymon with her D-Dex.

"You know what to do guys" spoke TJ.

"Right" nodded Dracomon and Veemon in unison.

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to… Flamedramon_

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

"Fire Rocket" cried Flamedramon sending several fire balls flying toward the Flymon. A wave of Flymon aimed their stingers and launched them toward the incoming flames. The collision of the two attacks caused a loud explosion knocking Flamedramon back a few steps.

"Double Strike!" yelled Yasyamon swinging his twin wooden blades in unison. Several white energy waves shot out from the ends of the blades and struck several of the Flymon directly. The hit Flymon fell to the ground and began to fade away into puddles of black goo.

"That's just nasty" shivered Ann at the sight of the slime.

"And that's putting it nicely" added Hawkmon in disgust.

"There are more Flymon where that came from children" spoke Corvus snapping his fingers again. Another wave of Flymon appeared around Corvus from a puff of black smoke then charged for the team.

"This guy just doesn't want to quit does he?" said Winona

"It appears that way" said Renamon.

"I believe I can help deal with this reaper" spoke out Falcomon.

"Really? How?" asked Ricky.

"All you have to do is hold out that orb and say unleash, digital drive accelerate" informed Falcomon "Do that and I'll be ready to assist in this battle"

"Right" nodded Ricky holding out his Digivice before him and lifting his drive core to the sky "Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!"

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

Shurimon stood tall before the Flymon, wearing a set of ninja garbs in white that covered most of his body and face with shoulder pads made from two large leafs. His limbs were colored limb green, spring like in form, with shurikens replacing his hands and feet. Attached to his back was a very large shuriken about the same size as his main body.

"Flymon, turn that Digimon into Swiss cheese" ordered Corvus with a small laugh. All the Flymon rushed toward Shurimon with their stingers ready to attack. Shurimon gracefully leapt into the air and dodged the charging Flymon with ease.

"Too slow" spoke Shurimon. The ninja like Digimon then pulled the shuriken off his back and readied it for an attack, "Time to level the playing field, Double Stars!"

Shurimon hurled his large shuriken toward the Flymon at a quickened speed. The shuriken then broke off into two separate shurikens, cutting straight through the horde of Flymon turning almost the entire wave of corrupt Digimon into blobs of black goo that splattered onto the ground. The split shuriken then combined together as one which Shurimon then caught and returned to his back "That was easy enough"

"Didn't see that one coming… looks like I'm off kids, until we meet again" said Corvus. The Digital Reaper then disappeared into a black cloud of smoke leaving the team in the silent forest again. All the Drive Digimon then reverted back to their rookie forms and regrouped with their partners.

"That was amazing Falcomon" cheered Ricky.

"From this day forth, I will proudly fight by your side Ricky" smiled Falcomon.

"So what now?" asked Dracomon.

"We head home, nothing left for us to do here" said TJ.

"Home?" questioned Falcomon

"You'll see in a second" smiled Ricky holding up his Digivice.


	11. Ch 11 Bloom

_**Ch. 11 Bloom**_

"I love this place already!" exclaimed Ashley. The team of Ashley, Albert, Jennifer, Brandi, and Javi were sent to the Village of Beginnings in search of the village's protector, Leomon. Brandi now wore her blue Digital World uniform while Javi wore his green colored uniform. The entire area had a child like theme to it with a ground as soft as pillows, towers made out of colorful blocks, and a vast array of trees and plants. Ashley was currently jumping up and down on the village's soft ground.

"Sorry Ashley but we got work to do, no time to be playing around" frowned Albert.

"So who are we looking for?" asked Jennifer.

"A friend of ours. His name is Leomon and he's the protector of all the baby Digimon born in this village" answered Brandi.

"What does he look like?" questioned Ashley.

"A really big lion pretty much describes him in a nut shell" laughed Javi.

"Hey guys!" called out Gaomon in the distance.

"We brought some friends with us" added Lunamon. The group ran over to where Gaomon and Lunamon were standing to find two other Digimon waiting for them. One of the Digimon resembled a small purple pterodactyl with gold markings on the ends of his shoulders and head. The other Digimon resembled a young puppy with big blue eyes, lightly tan colored fur, and a golden collar around her neck.

"Salamon!" smiled Brandi opening her arms wide.

"Brandi!" cheered Salamon leaping into Brandi's open arms.

"Javi!" yelled Monodramon rushing over to Javi. Monodramon then leapt into the air expecting Javi to catch him.

"Wait! Monodramon, you're too…" began Javi but it was too late. Monodramon tackled Javi to the ground and was now sitting on top of his partner smiling. Javi just looked up at Monodramon and finished his sentence, still a bit dazed "… heavy"

"Sorry about that buddy but I haven't seen you in a long time" smiled Monodramon helping Javi up off the ground.

"So what brings you guys here?" asked Salamon leaping back onto the ground.

"We're looking for Leomon and collecting information on a group called the Digital Reapers" replied Brandi.

"Well, Leomon should be in the village looking after the little ones I think." spoke Monodramon.

"Then let's go find him" said Javi. The group made their way through the brightly colored village till they found a field full of small nest, each cradling a vase array of colorful eggs. A gentle breeze rocked each nest tenderly, protecting the eggs that they held.

"Digimon are born from eggs?" questioned Jennifer.

"Yep, where did you think we were born from?" asked Lunamon.

"Guess it makes sense… I think…" said Ashley, a bit confused.

"I don't think Leomon is here" said Albert overlooking the field of eggs.

"I don't see him anywhere" added Gaomon.

"Hey! Get away from those eggs!" shouted a voice. The group could see a small Digimon closely resembling a rabbit with red fur and purple highlights along its back and tail charging directly for them.

"Let's see here, Elecmon, a rookie level Digimon that can use his tail to build up electrical energy to release his Super Thunder Strike attack." read Brandi from her D-Dex.

"Don't even think about harming these poor defenseless eggs Digital Reapers" growled Elecmon.

"Whoa there, we're not the Digital Reapers" said Jennifer.

"Yeah, we're the Digidestined" said Albert holding out his Digivice for Elecmon to see. The other Digidestined did the same as Albert and showed Elecmon their Digivices.

"How do I know those aren't fake?" asked Elecmon.

"Cause we'd have captured you and taken over this area by now if we were" said Monodramon. The entire team looked over at Monodramon and glared at him. Monodramon just gave a slight shrug "Just saying is all"

"Look, we came here looking for Leomon, hoping he could tell us any news about what's going on here in the Digital World." said Brandi.

"Well… if you know Leomon then I guess I can trust you. Leomon is away right now scouting for reaper activity. While he's away, I'm in charge of protecting and caring for all the baby Digimon here" spoke Elecmon.

"Know when he'll get back?" asked Salamon.

"Nope, he comes and goes a lot more now ever since those Digital Reapers have appeared. He makes sure that all the areas around here are sa… oh no…" began Elecmon looking into the distance. The grouped turned their attention to where Elecmon was staring to see several dark clouds forming in the distance.

"The Digital Reapers are close by" glared Gaomon.

"Those clouds are covering Green Meadows, there are a lot of young Digimon living there" added Elecmon.

"Guys, I think my Drive Core is there" said Ashley showing the group her D-Dex. A small green dot was flashing on the map screen over that same location.

"We'd better go see what's happening over there then. We can't let those Digital Reapers get to close to this place" said Albert.

"I'll keep these eggs safe, you kids go stop that reaper" said Elecmon. The group gave Elecmon a slight nod and took off running toward the growing dark clouds in the distance. They continued to head toward Green Meadows moving as quickly as they could. The group soon reached an open meadow filled with tall grass and several fields of pink colored flowers. In the center of one of those fields was a Digital Reaper desperately tugging at some object on the ground.

"Lyra" hissed Jennifer and Lunamon.

"Oh, so you brats finally show up. I was hoping you'd show up soon. I have some friends for you to play with" grinned Lyra snapping her fingers. Several Digimon appeared behind her all resembling kiwis. The Digimon had longlegs, brown feathers, and silver helmets with green hair sticking out from behind the helmet.

"Kiwimon, they're champion level Digimon with an attack called Pummel Peck" read Javi from his D-Dex.

"Time to get to work you two" said Albert.

"Leave it to us." smiled Lunamon.

_Gaomon Drive Digivolved to… Moosemon_

_Lunamon Drive Digivolved to… Rinkmon_

"Attack Kiwimon!" commanded Lyra. The Kiwimon began to charge for the Digidestined group at full speed.

"Oh please, Spinning Cutter!"" cried Rinkmon cutting through the charging Digimon with her spinning blade attack. The Digimon struck with the attack were transformed into puddles of black slime that covered the green fields below.

"Horn Blade!" added Moosemon plowing straight through several more Kiwimon.

"Fight back you worthless birds!" yelled Lyra.

"Pummel Peck…" spoke several of the Kiwimon in a monotonous voice. The corrupt Digimon opened their mouths one by one launching a stream of several smaller Kiwimon flying toward the Digimon team.

"Spinning Cutter!" said Rinkmon stopping the attack with her glowing blue energy blades. While the attacks between the controlled Digimon and Drive Digimon continued, Ashley noticed a glass orb sitting in the center of a ring of colorful flowers. She made her way over to the orb and examined it closely. The symbol in the center of the orb was colored an olive green with a flower like design in the center. The flower had four large petals around it with four smaller petals in-between the larger petals. She then placed her hands on the orb and lifted it up off the ground. A beam of olive colored light shot out from the earth, stopping the battle. A small Digimon began to appear from behind the stream of olive colored light.

"What's going on here, I tried for hours to life that orb…" said Lyra spellbound.

Ashley gazed into the light to see a small, flower like creature appear from behind the light. The Digimon had a pink colored head and green colored body with a yellow stem growing atop its head. The petite Digimon let out a yawn and smiled at the sight of her partner.

"I'm free, I'm free, I'm free!" cheered the Digimon.

"I'm Ashley, who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Lalamon and you must be my new human partner. Nice to meet you"

"Oh this is just pathetic, if I can't have that Digimon then nobody can. Kiwimon attack" snarled Lyra pointing to Ashley and Lalamon.

"Quick Ashley, hold up that orb and say unleash, digital drive accelerate" said Lalamon quickly.

"Alright" said Ashley holding her Digital Drive Core above her and her Digivice before her, "Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!"

_Lalamon Drive Digivolved to… Butterflymon_

Butterflymon appeared from a bright flash of light and gracefully flew into the sky. The Digimon had white wings with a purple trim along with yellow armor covering most of her body bearing several marks in maroon along the edges. Ashley now held her newly formed Digivice before her and gripped it tightly.

"A butterfly… you think you can defeat me with a butterfly?" glared Lyra.

"Looks can be deceiving" smiled Ashley.

"Yeah right, Kiwimon…" began Lyra.

"Pummel Peck" spoke the Kiwimon launching their attacks toward Butterflymon.

"How about you try this one on for size, Scales of the Shining Bolts!" cried Butterflymon collecting energy in her wings. Butterflymon gave one quick flap with her wings sending several waves of electrical energy toward the incoming attacks. The attack cut straight through the Pummel Peck attack and then struck the remaining Kiwimon, turning them into nothing but black goo.

"This isn't over you brats, I'll be back with even stronger Digimon" yelled Lyra vanishing in a cloud of black smoke. Once the teams Drive Digimon reverted back to their rookie forms, the group began to head back to the Village of Beginnings.

"So you and me are gonna be partners Lalamon?" asked Ashley.

"Yep, you and me are gonna stop those mean Digital Reapers and save the Digital World" smiled Lalamon.

"You mean those D-Reapers" corrected Javi.

"D-Reapers?" questioned the team all together.

"Yeah, Digital Reapers is too much of a mouthful to say" laughed Javi.

"Leave it to Javi to come up with something like that" sighed Brandi.

"It's what he's good at" smirked Monodramon. The team laughed as they continued their trip back to the Village of Beginnings and back home for the day.


	12. Ch 12 New Base of Operations

_**Ch. 12 New Base of Operations**_

Cody and his team were the first to return back to the human world along with their Digital partners in their rookie forms. As his team began to move away from the laptop, TJ and his group appeared behind them from the laptop screen.

"Perfect timing" smiled Cody.

"Albert's group back yet?" asked TJ.

Before anybody could respond, Albert and his group appeared from the laptop screen crashing into the other two teams and sending them tumbling across the ground. The groups recovered from the impact and gathered around in a circle to discuss their findings.

"We might not have gotten any new info on the Digital Reapers but at least the new guys have their partners" said Michelle.

"D-Reapers" corrected Javi and Monodramon.

"What did you say?" asked Renamon.

"We've decided to call the Digital Reapers, D-Reapers for short" said Javi.

"Only you Javi…" sighed Ann.

"So what do we do now?" asked Ashley.

"Well, our goal for now in the Digital World is to find the remaining drive cores. After that, we can start searching for a way to stop the D-Reapers. For now though, we'd all better head on home before it gets too late" answered Albert.

"Alright, let's all meet here tomorrow and we'll go back to the Digital World and keep searching for those drive cores" spoke Cody.

"Uh guys, I think I know a better place that we can meet." said Ricky suddenly.

"Really? Where?" asked Brandi.

"My grandparents have a private cabin out here by the lake. They don't go there very often and I have a key to the place so if you guys would rather meet there we can. It'll be safer to leave our stuff there rather than out here in the open" said Ricky.

"That would be great" smiled Agumon.

"Yeah, it'll be like our very own base" added Veemon with excitement.

"I can show everybody where it is tomorrow after school" added Ricky.

"Sounds like a plan then" spoke TJ. The group then began to head to their respective homes to get some well earned rest for the night.

--

"Those brats are starting to become quiet the nuisance aren't they" sneered Corvus.

"They're messing up all our plans" added Lyra.

"We cannot allow them to impede on our efforts here" continued Fornax.

"Should we continue our work here Crux?" asked Ara.

"No, not now. We must return back home for a few days. Our presence is needed there for the moment but rest assured, we will come back and continue our work here in the Digital World despite the meddling of those Digidestined brats. Ara, prepare the samples for our return and have Orion ready to go." ordered Crux.

"Right away Crux, hope Orion's been having fun waiting for us" giggled Ara.

--

The Digidestined team met after school the next day for another trip back to the Digital World. All their Digimon partners hid in the nearby forest while their partners attended classes and were happy to see them come and pick them up. They then began to trek through the forest surrounding the lake with Ricky leading the way to his grandparent's cabin. Once they reached the secluded cabin, they were surprised at what they saw. The cabin was two stories tall with a patio in the front and deck overlooking the lake with its very own dock in the back. The wooden finish on the building gave this place a modern, yet rustic finish. Many of the windows were built to face where the sun rose and sets everyday.

"Dude, what do your grandparents do for a living?" said Trey, spell bound at the site of the cabin.

"Oh, my grandpa was an architect and my grandma was an interior decorator. They designed this place but they only come here maybe once or twice a year." replied Ricky with a small laugh.

"Can we go inside?" asked Dracomon.

"It's what we're here for" smiled Ricky walking over to the entrance way. He pulled a key out from his pocket and opened the door so the team could enter the cabin.

"Whoa…" started Diego seeing the building's interior.

"Whoa is right…" continued Coronamon, his jaw hanging a bit.

"You guys can look around if you want" said Ricky. The team dropped off their backpacks by the door and began to explore the cabin. The cabin's living room had several couches all facing a fire place with a plasma screen TV hanging over it. The cabin also featured an impressive kitchen and office area with many books along a set of wooden shelves in the back of the room. The upstairs area contained four bedrooms, each sharing a bathroom with the room next to it. After the team finished looking over their new base, they returned to the living room. Winona then began to set up her laptop with Renamon looking on.

"This place is so nice Ricky" said Salamon.

"You sure your grandparents don't mind us using this place?" asked Falcomon.

"Nah, they like it whenever they see this place being used and enjoyed. It's like my grandpa says 'There's no point in making something if it's not meant to be enjoyed'" answered Ricky. While the team waited for Winona to finish setting up her laptop, Andrew pulled out a news paper from his backpack and began to read through it, Guilmon trying to see what he was reading.

"What are you reading Andrew?" asked Guilmon.

"It's an article on a company that just finished building their new research facility here in Lakeview." answered Andrew looking over the article.

"Oh, you mean the Helix Corporation?" asked Albert taking a glance over the article with Andrew.

"Helix Corporation?" questioned Gaomon.

"The Helix Corporation does a lot of stuff from creating pharmaceuticals to designing military technology. They have locations all over the world but they've wanted to open up their main headquarters here in Lakeview for awhile now" informed Jennifer.

"The grand opening for their research facility and main office is tomorrow I believe" added Albert.

"Who's that guy?" asked Gabumon pointing to a picture of an older man at the bottom of the article. The man in the picture looked to be in his mid fifties with sharply combed black hair.

"Says here that's Helix Corporations owner, Mr. Fredric Conway" replied Andrew.

"He looks kinda scary to me" shivered Lalamon.

"Most businessmen do" laughed Ashley.

"Ready to go guys?" asked TJ.

"Winona has the gateway all set up" continued Agumon. The group then gathered around the laptop while Winona continued to type away on the keyboard.

"Where we heading today?" asked Cody eager to return to the Digital World.

"Well, Wizardmon sent me a message with a few possible locations for a drive core to be hidden in. Net City, Spark Plains, and Lotus Falls are the places I'd like to explore today." informed Winona.

"Alright, then all we have left to do is split up and go check those area out." said Hawkmon.

"I call Net City" called out Javi excitedly. "Ann, Albert, Ricky, and Kayla can come to"

"Sounds like a fun place to visit" spoke Lunamon.

"They usually do, then we get there and everything begins to go crazy" sighed Lopmon.

Winona set up the Digital Gateway while Javi and his team took their places before the screen. Once the gateway was set up, Javi and his team pulled out their Digivices.

"Digiport Open!" called out Javi sending his team through the Laptop screen.

"Spark Plains sounds pretty cool, I think I'll go with Michelle, Trey, TJ, and Brandi" spoke Cody. The remaining team members agreed with the idea and assembled before the laptop screen.

"Digiport Open!" yelled Brandi opening the gateway for her group to go through.

"I guess that leave us to see Lotus Falls" said Diego. Diego, Winona, Ashley, Andrew, and Jennifer took their spots before the laptop and prepared for their trip back to the Digital World.

"Digiport Open!" said Winona taking her team to the Digital World. All the Digidestined were now in route to the Digital World.


	13. Ch 13 The Sound of Thunder

_**Ch. 13 The Sound of Thunder**_

The team of Michelle, Gabumon, Cody, Agumon, TJ, Veemon, Trey, Dracomon, Brandi, and Salamon appeared in a vast, open plain filled with tall grass. There were a few trees scattered about the plains which sat below a gorgeous blue sky. A few thin clouds could be seen moving slowly across sky above.

"So this is Spark Plains. I was kinda expecting to see a few storm clouds here but this is good" said Trey.

"Give it some time and we'll start seeing those dark clouds again" sighed TJ.

"Don't say stuff like that TJ. For all we know, this might just be our first peaceful visit to the Digital World" snapped Brandi.

"Wouldn't count on it" said Veemon.

"It's never happened to us before" added Agumon.

"Oh, don't be such downers" spoke Salamon.

"Anybody picking up a signal on their D-Dex?" asked Cody changing the subject.

"Nope, nothing" frowned Brandi glancing at her D-Dex.

"Hey, I got something" smiled Michelle upon seeing her D-Dex.

"Really? Where at?" questioned Gabumon.

"The signal is coming from that direction" said Michelle pointing down one of the many rows of tall grass. "It doesn't look that far from here"

"Then let's get moving" said Dracomon. The team began to move in the direction Michelle had pointed to. As they grew closer and closer to the signal, the winds began to pick up more and more while the clouds overhead began to grow bigger and darker. The clouds above soon appeared to be pitch black while each gust of wind that blew past the team grew stronger.. Despite the growing clouds and increasing winds, the team still pushed forward.

"Told you to give it some time" laughed TJ while Brandi just rolled her eyes.

"Think a reaper is around here?" asked Salamon.

Several bolts of lightning soon struck around the group stopping them. Several tiny Digimon soon darted around the team moving way too fast for anyone to see clearly. The group of small Digimon then stopped their movements and hovered before the group, their eyes colored a solid black. The Digimon had round bodies colored a dark blue, had a thunder bolt symbol in gold on its forehead, and wore small white gloves and boots with a red trim.

"Thundermon, champion level Digimon that can move lightning fast at will. They might look small but they can do a lot of damage with their Thunder Volt attack." read Trey from his D-Dex.

"Destroy Digidestined…" spoke the group of Digimon in a low, bland sounding voice.

"Ok D-Reaper, you can show yourself!" shouted Cody. The team expected a dark clad figure to appear before them but to their surprise, nobody appeared.

"Guess controlled Digimon don't always need somebody to order them around" observed Agumon.

"Thunder Volt…" spoke several of the Thundermon raising their hands into the air. Several bolts of lightning soon struck around the team causing them to scatter about, seeking cover from the attacks.

"They know the basics of seek and destroy though" said Veemon recovering from his dodge.

"Time to get to work guys" said Trey.

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to... Flamedramon_

"Dino Burst" called out Allomon. The great dinosaur Digimon opened his jaws wide, sending a stream of flames toward Thundermon. The group of Thundermon just scattered about, avoiding the flames and encircling the team.

"Up for some target practice?" grinned Flamedramon.

"Sure, why not" smiled Yasyamon readying his two blades.

"Fire Rocket!" cried Flamedramon hurling several fireballs toward the Thundermon.

"Double Strike!" exclaimed Yasyamon wildly swinging his two swords, sending several energy blades flying toward Thundermon. The Thundermon suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye, dodging the attacks then returned as quickly as they had disappeared. The Thundermon began to raise their hands into the air, preparing for another barrage of attacks.

"Thunder Volt…" spoke the corrupted Digimon sending a series of bolts crashing around the team. Yasyamon quickly used his swords to absorb the attacks that came close to striking the Digidestined. The aftermath of the attacks left Yasyamon very weakened.

"Don't think I can pull that off again" panted Yasyamon.

"Think you guys can distract the Thundermon long enough for us to go find that drive core?" asked Michelle.

"Sure, leave this to us." nodded Flamedramon.

"Leave the distraction to me, Dino Burst!" cried Allomon using his flames to open a pathway through the Thundermon. Michelle, Gabumon, Brandi, and Salamon wasted no time running straight past the Thundermon and toward the signal's location. The four of them sprinted across the plains as fast as their legs could carry them. Three of the Thundermon noticed the four of them and began to chase after them, launching their Thunder Volt attack every chance they got.

"Guys look, up ahead in that tree" pointed out Brandi. A sparkle of light could be seen glistening in a nearby tree trunk. The four of them reached the tree to find a Digital Drive Core bearing the symbol for the Crest of Compassion in the center wedged in the center of the tree. Michelle quickly pulled the orb out of the tree trunk and held it into the air with her Digivice held out before her.

"We gonna need something quick to beat these guys. Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!"

_Gabumon Drive Digivolved to… Raidramon_

Raidramon resembled a wolf of sorts with a long blue body covered in black armor with three tall spikes emerging from his back. Raidramon wore a black helmet with a silver and gold horn sticking out from the forehead region. Raidramon let out a low growl upon seeing the rapidly approaching Thundermon.

"Let's see how you like being hit with your own element, Thunder Blast!" shouted Raidramon. A surge of electrical energy rushed though the tips of the black spikes on his back all entering the blade on his forehead. Raidramon then let out a bolt of blue colored electricity toward the incoming Digimon striking them and reverting their forms to nothing but a puddle of black sludge.

"That was awesome Raidramon" admired Michelle.

"Thanks, let's go back and help the others before the Thundermon fry them" said Raidramon allowing Michelle, Brandi, and Salamon to climb onto his back. Once the trio took their places on Raidramon's back, the storm Digimon took off toward the spot where the other Digimon were battling.

--

"Thunder Volt…" spoke the Thundermon sending their attacks flying toward Allomon. Allomon took the full force of the attacks before collapsing to the ground. He tried to regain his ground but could not summon enough strength to stand.

"Fire Rocket" cried Flamedramon tossing several more fireballs toward the Thundermon. All the Thundermon dashed around the field avoiding the attack.

"They're too fast to hit with an attack" said Flamedramon dripping with sweat.

"And their attacks are way too much to withstand when used all at once" added Yasyamon readying his swords.

"Anybody have any bright ideas?" asked TJ.

"Thunder Blast!" echoed Raidramon's voice. A bolt of blue colored electricity darted across the field striking all the Thundermon in one consecutive chain. The attack left the group of tainted Digimon stunned.

"Hey guys, meet Raidramon" yelled Michelle as she, Brandi, and Salamon came running up to their fellow Digidestined. Raidramon took a spot with the other Drive Digimon and stared down Thundermon.

"Michelle found her drive core" said Salamon. Michele held out her new Digivice for the group to see.

"Thunder Vo…" began the Thundermon recovering from the attack.

"Leave this to me, Thunder Blast!" cried Raidramon sending another surge of electricity through the Thundermon. The energy flow was too much for the Thundermon to withstand. The end result was the Thundermon falling to the ground, forming into one large mass of black goo.

"That should end things for now" smiled Raidramon reverting back to his rookie form. The other Drive Digimon reverted back to their rookie forms and gave a quick sigh of relief.

"Thanks for the help Gabumon" said Dracomon.

"It was nothing" laughed Gabumon blushing a little.

"Let's go home guys, rather not get struck with a thunder bolt from one of those clouds" said Cody pointing to the dark clouds above. The group nodded with the idea and began to head away from the dark clouds and back home.


	14. Ch 14 Taking to the Skies

_**Ch. 14 Taking to the Skies**_

"I love regions like this" admired Javi taking in the scenery before him. Javi, Albert, Ann, Ricky, Kayla, and their respective partners were standing on one of the streets in the massive city, surrounded by skyscrapers of varying heights. The blue sky overhead was difficult to see due to the towering structures surrounding them.

"So where should we start looking?" asked Ricky.

"Wherever those two can pick up a signal" said Falcomon pointing to Javi and Ann.

"Got anything guys?" questioned Hawkmon.

"Let me see…" started Ann pulling out her D-Dex and scanning over the map. After searching the map for a few seconds, Ann frowned and pocketed the device "Nope, nothing"

"I got something guys" smiled Javi looking over his D-Dex with excitement "It's just east of here near the heart of Net City"

"Then let's get moving" added Monodramon with a cheer. The group began to walk along the road way, heading for the cities center. Javi lead the way using his D-Dex to guide the group along the maze of streets. The team came to a halt when they reached a four way intersection.

"Doesn't this place seem kinda quiet to you?" asked Lopmon.

"Maybe this place was attacked by the D-Reapers, scaring away all the Digimon" suggested Kayla.

"It's highly possible" said Gaomon.

"You might want to confirm that" added Albert pointing to the darkened sky above. The group then began to hear the sound of galloping which echoed through the city. The sound could be heard coming from all directions, making the location of the sound difficult to find.

"Great, just what we needed" sighed Ann.

"It's heading toward us, but from where?" questioned Falcomon scanning the area. Suddenly the sound stopped creating an eerie silence.

"Ok, where did the sound go?" asked Ricky. Ricky's question was met by several loud explosions along with the sound of glass shattering. The group frantically searched the scene only to discover several Digimon flying overhead.

"Guess we got our answer" glared Gaomon seeing the Digimon above. The Digimon resembled a unicorn with white fur and a blond mane. It had grey wings and wore a red metal mask covering its face and horn.

"Unimon, they're champion level Digimon that are considered sacred in the Digital World. They prefer to attack from above with their Aerial Shocker attack." informed Kayla reading her D-Dex.

"Intruders, no one is allowed in this city other than the Digital Reapers" spoke one of the Unimon.

"Prepare to be blasted" continued another Unimon. All the Unimon then opened their mouths, forming a blue ball of energy before their opened jaws.

"Aerial Shocker!" cried the corrupted Digimon sending a flurry of attacks to rain upon the team. The group dodged the attack and readied themselves for a battle.

"Time to get to work" said Falcomon.

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

_Gaomon Drive Digivolved to… Moosemon_

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

"Talon Arrow" called out Bucchiemon sending her pink arrows flying upward toward the Unimon. The Unimon all scattered about, avoiding the attack. The horde of dark Digimon then retaliated with a set of attacks. Another flurry of blue orbs was sent flying down onto the team.

"Horn Blade" shouted Moosemon cutting through the attacks with his mighty antlers.

"Double Stars" added Shurimon throwing his giant shuriken toward the Unimon. The Unimon dodged the shuriken and regrouped before the team.

"We're not getting anywhere here" growled Albert.

"They attack, we counter attack, we attack, they counter attack… this'll last forever" observed Ricky.

"I have an idea. We'll be right back" said Javi suddenly dashing down one of the streets with Monodramon.

"Wait up Javi, where are you going?" cried Ann running after Javi with Hawkmon.

"Where are they running off to?" asked Kayla seeing the pair and their Digimon running down one of the streets.

"Talon Arrow!" exclaimed Bucchiemon sending another set of glowing arrows toward the Unimon. "They're probably heading for the drive core"

"The backup would be appreciated, Horn Blade!" cried Moosemon leaping into the air and taking a quick swipe at one of the Unimon with his antlers. Moosemon just managed to hit one of the Unimon destroying it and reverting that Digimon's form to nothing but a puddle of black goo that fell to the street below.

"Double Stars!" yelled Shurimon catching one of the Unimon off guard and destroying it with his shuriken. The Unimon then reformed into an amorphous black blob and fell to the ground with a splat.

"New target…" hissed one of the Unimon taking off toward the direction Javi and Ann were running in. All the other Unimon caught wind of the plan and followed close behind their leading Unimon.

"Looks like they figured out what were up to" said Ricky.

"We gotta stop them before they get to Javi and Ann" spoke Albert taking off with Moosemon after the Unimon along with Kayla, Ricky, and their Digimon partners.

--

Javi, Monodramon, Ann, and Hawkmon reached the center of the city to find a silver colored fountain sitting quietly amongst a ring of trees. The fountain had many silver rings all rotating around a central pedestal where a familiar clear orb lay sitting. The Crest of Harmony could be seen rotating in the center of the glass orb in green.

"Javi, it's your Digital Drive Core!" exclaimed Ann. The group ran over to the fountain giving Javi the chance to lift the orb from its resting place.

"Yes, I finally found my drive core. I wonder what you'll Drive Digivolve into Monodramon?" questioned Javi.

"You're gonna find out soon, look who decided to follow us" inputted Hawkmon pointing to the incoming group of Unimon.

"It's now or never buddy" spoke Monodramon.

"Right, Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!" cried out Javi.

_Monodramon Drive Digivolved to... Pteramon_

Pteramon appeared before Javi and Ann in a bright flash of light. The newly Digivolved Digimon looked similar to a pteranodon covered with dark purple colored armor. It had several small missile launchers attached to the bottom of its wings along with red edging along part of his body.

"Time to spread my wings and fly" said Pteramon taking to the skies. Pteramon began to dart for the incoming Unimon using his jet engine wings to gain incredible speed.

"Aerial Shocker!" hollered the Unimon sending a barrage of blue orbs toward Pteramon. Pteramon easily avoided the attacks while in the sky. Pteramon then passed through the Unimon and readied his wings for an attack of his own.

"Let's see you all avoid this, Missile Storm!" shouted Pteramon. A series of missiles shot out from Pteramon's wings striking the evil Digimon and creating several explosions to appear in the sky. Following the smoke created from the attack came several blobs of black slime to fall onto the ground and disappear.

'Got 'em!" smiled Pteramon.

"Watch out buddy!" yelled Javi from the ground. A stray Unimon tried to attack Pteramon while his guard was let down. Pteramon braced himself for the incoming attack.

"Talon Arrow" cried Bucchiemon suddenly, hitting the Pteramon with a direct attack. The Unimon took the attack then flew low to the ground to take cover.

"Horn Blade!" shouted Moosemon intercepting the Unimon and tossing the Digimon back into the air.

"Time to end this, Double Stars" continued Shurimon with the barrage of attacks finishing off the Unimon with a quick swipe of his shuriken.

"Correction, we got them" smiled Kayla.

"Fine, I'll give you that one" sighed Javi.

"You guys ready to leave?" asked Albert.

"Yeah, let's head home to our quiet city" said Ann in relief. The team's Digimon reverted back to their Rookie forms and joined their partners for a return trip home.


	15. Ch 15 Dancer of the Flowers

_**Ch. 15 Dancer of the Flowers**_

"I don't think I've ever seen a region like this before" commented Winona observing the region that she and her team had been transported to. The group appeared in a bamboo thicket alongside a small creek. Several white, lotus flower petals could be seen flowing down the creek.

"Where should we start our search?" asked Ashley.

"Let's follow this creek and find the actual falls here. I'd bet the Drive Core is hidden there" answered Andrew.

"So we'd have to head that way right?" spoke Diego pointing in the opposite direction of the flowing water.

"Yes, moving in the opposite direction of the current should lead us to the falls" replied Renamon. The team began to make their way through the forest of bamboo shoots alongside the creek. As they continued their journey, the group began to notice the creek growing wider and wider while current began to grow swifter. The group halted when they reached a large pool of water filled with white lotuses along with a large waterfall pouring into the pool.

"Either of you guys picking up a signal here?" asked Lalamon looking over to Andrew and Winona.

"Nothing here" sighed Andrew looking over his D-Dex.

"Maybe the next one will be yours" spoke Guilmon trying to cheer up his partner.

"I'm getting something" smiled Winona examining her D-Dex screen "The signal is coming from behind the waterfall."

"Then let's check it out" said Diego starting to head for the falls.

"Intruders…" spoke several voices in unison

"Watch out Diego!" exclaimed Coronamon knocking Diego to the ground.

A long vine swiftly struck the ground before Diego, barley missing him. The vine then pulled back and returned to an unknown Digimon. The Digimon were mostly green in color with round bodies. They had two long tentacles growing on their sides acting as arms along with several, pale yellow leaves growing out from the back of their head region. The creatures had long slits for eyes which were currently colored black.

"Should have known this place would be guarded" said Jennifer pulling out her D-Dex and scanning the Digimon assembling before the team "Weedmon, champion level plant Digimon. Those tentacles on their sides act as arms and allow them to use their Deadly Ivy attack"

"The bamboo shoots made it hard to see the sky. We never even noticed that this area was being covered by those dark clouds" observed Lunamon looking into the sky.

"Must protect treasure… most stop intruders…" spoke the Digimon in a low voice.

"I know where this is going, ready Coronamon?" asked Diego readying his Digivice.

"Just let me at 'em" smiled Coronamon readying his fists.

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

"Matador Dash!" cried Bullmon plowing through the group of Weedmon with his long glowing horns.

"You guys help out to" said Ashley turning to Lunamon and Lalamon.

"We'll do our best" chimed the two Digimon together.

_Lalamon Drive Digivolved to… Butterflymon_

_Lunamon Drive Digivolved to… Rinkmon_

"Deadly Ivy" snarled the Weedmon launching their arms toward the teams Digimon.

"Spinning Cutter!" shouted Rinkmon beginning to twirl around and around. She then launched several blue glowing blades toward incoming vines and stopped the attack.

"Scales of the Shining Bolts" continued Butterflymon with the barrage of attacks. Her wings began to collect energy then shot off several bolts of electricity stopping the Weedmon from advancing upon the team.

"Stop Digidestined…" hissed the Weedmon. Several more Weedmon began to appear from the thicket of bamboo shoots all with their eyes colored a solid black.

"Think you guys can hold them off while we go find that Dive Core?" asked Winona.

"Sure, leave it to us" assured Diego.

"I'll open up a path for you, Matador Dash" shouted Bullmon creating an open pathway to the waterfall.

"Thank you" smiled Guilmon as he, Andrew, Winona, and Renamon made their way to the waterfall. They quickly found a cave opening directly behind the roaring falls and entered swiftly. Once the team was completely behind the waterfall, they found a carved out pathway and made their way down the path. It wasn't long until the group found what they were seeking. They discovered a round room containing a shallow pool of water and a white pedestal in the center of the pool. Atop the pedestal sat a clear colored orb containing the symbol for the Crest of Wisdom rotating in the center.

"My drive core" exclaimed Winona running over to the orb and quickly lifting it off its resting place. Winona began to examine her Digital Drive Core carefully.

"There is no time to waste, we need to help the others" spoke Renamon suddenly.

"Right…" began Winona readying her Digivice and drive core "Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate"

_Renamon Drive Digivolved to… Kabukimon_

Kabukimon appeared in a bright flash of white light. She wore red robes with dark yellow robes underneath and had long flowing orange hair. Two small, pink colored cherry blossom flowers grew out from her hands along with a much bigger cherry blossom surrounding her facial region. Kabukimon's face was covered by a white make with yellow eyes and red markings.

"Let's see what this power can really do" said Kabukimon overlooking her new form.

--

"Deadly Ivy" spoke the Weedmon throwing their vines toward Rinkmon.

"Spinning Cutter" cried Rinkmon blocking the incoming attack with the long blades on her arms "We're gonna need back up soon"

"The others should be coming soon, Scales of the Shining Bolts" added Butterflymon sending several thunder bolts toward the Weedmon and stopping their attacks.

"Matador Mash" shouted Bullmon rushing through another group of Weedmon "We just need to hang in there a little bit longer"

"Hey, the others are coming" said Diego turning his attention to the falls. Andrew, Guilmon, and Winona came running out from behind the waterfall and rejoined with the other Digidestined.

"Where's Renamon?" asked Ashley.

"Right here" spoke out Kabukimon appearing before the group "Kabukimon now"

"You guys got a plan to get out of here?" asked Jennifer nervously as she noticed the Weedmon surrounding them.

"Just leave this all to me" assured Kabukimon leaping gracefully into the air.

"Let us end this battle, Cherry Blossom Storm" chanted Kabukimon as she began to spin in the air. Several pink flower petals began to surround her as she continued to twirl around and around. She then outstretched her arms causing the petals to shot out in all directions slicing straight through all the Weedmon and turning them into nothing but puddles of black slime. She then landed elegantly on the ground and began to revert back to her Renamon form "Easy"

"That was great" said Butterflymon reverting back to her Lalamon form along with Bullmon reverting back to Coronamon.

"If the others found a drive core at the other locations then there are probably only three more drive cores to find" said Winona.

"Let's go home guys, before anymore Weedmon come looking for a fight" said Diego. The team agreed with the idea and made their way back to the real world.

--

"Looks like everybody's trip to the Digital World was successful" said Agumon seeing Winona's. Michelle's, and Javi's new Digivices.

"Looks like it" continued Cody. "Let's call it a day guys, this place still gonna be open for us to use tomorrow Ricky?"

"Yeah, I don't see any problems with using this place for a home base from now on" replied Ricky.

"Then we all know where to meet tomorrow" said TJ. The team began to exit their new base and head on home for some well earned rest.


	16. Ch 16 Return to the Skies

_**Ch. 16 Return to the Skies**_

Cody and TJ met up right after baseball practice and began to make their way to the cabin base for another trip to the Digital World. As the pair approached their home base, they found their partners outside, eagerly awaiting their arrival.

"Welcome back guys," said Agumon waving to Cody and TJ as they approached the entrance way to the cabin.

"How'd practice go?" asked Veemon.

"Pretty good," replied Cody. The four of them entered the cabin to find most of the Digidestined team waiting for them. Winona sat on the couch preparing the Digital Gateway with her laptop while the others stood around talking to each other.

"Hey guys" greeted TJ.

"Where's Albert, Michelle, and Jennifer?" questioned Cody surveying the room. It was at that moment that Gaomon, Gabumon, and Lunamon came running down the staircase on the other side of the room. Following them were their partners dressed in a formal manner. Albert wore a black suit with a blue dress shirt underneath; Michelle wore a long blue dress along with a silver necklace, and Jennifer wore a black evening gown with a set of gold colored wristbands.

"Well don't we look lovely this evening" smiled Brandi.

"Looking sharp Albert" commented Trey.

"Where you guys off to?" asked Cody.

"Dr. Taylor, the doctor I started working for, got invited to the big grand opening dinner this evening for Helix Corp. He invited me along to meet Helix Corp's head medical researcher and told me I could invite two friends if I wanted so I asked Michelle and Jennifer if they wanted to go" explained Albert.

"And naturally we said yes," said Jennifer.

"Albert gets to have two dates tonight" snickered Michelle.

"Speaking of you guys better get going or you'll be late" informed Lunamon.

"Don't want to make a bad first impression on all those big shots going to the party" added Gaomon.

"Right, let's go then. Good luck in the Digital World guys" said Albert heading out of the cabin along with Michelle, Jennifer, and their partners.

"Looks like we'll be down a few members this time, so where are we heading today?" asked Agumon.

"I got three more locations to check out today that have a high probability of holding a Drive Core. There are Sky Meadows, the Star Garden, and finally Stone Canyon" informed Winona.

"Sky Meadow's sounds perfect for me and Hawkmon" smiled Ann. "TJ, Veemon, Ricky, Falcomon, Trey, and Dracomon can come with us there to if they want."

"I wanna see the Star Garden. Me and Salamon should be able to search that whole area if Javi, Monodramon, Ashley, Lalamon, Winona, and Renamon come to" spoke Brandi

"Then that will leave me and Guilmon to check out Stone Canyon with Cody, Kayla, Diego, Agumon, Lopmon, and Coronamon." finished Andrew.

"Then let's get going" spoke Cody readying his Digivice.

--

"_Ugh, I hate these formal appearances. We should be in the Digital World continuing our work" hissed Lyra._

"_Easy Lyra, we must not arouse suspicions of or work until the time is right. Fornax, Ara, Corvus… you know what to do" spoke Crux sternly._

"_Consider everything taken care of Crux" smiled Corvus wickedly. "Oh Orion…"_

--

"This place is beautiful" admired Ann. The Sky Meadows consisted of several fields of tall green grass floating on strips of land high in the great blue sky above.

"Is your D-Dex picking up a signal from the Drive Core Ann?" asked Falcomon.

Ann pulled out her D-Dex and scanned over the map of Sky Meadows for a few seconds. A smile began to stretch across her face once she saw a familiar yellow dot flashing on the screen "My Drive Core is here. It's just a few miles that way"

"Then let's head out. This region should be a piece of cake for us" cheered Veemon.

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy" said Ricky suddenly.

"Why do you say that?" asked Trey.

"Because of them" said Ricky pointing to a swarm of Digimon heading towards them. The Digimon appeared to be moths with brown wings and a yellow body along with green highlights on their arms, legs, and head. The most notable thing on these unknown Digimon was the machine gun turrets on their tail ends.

"Mothmon, insect Digimon that can use those turrets on their tails to perform their Multiple Blaster attack" read Ricky from his D-Dex.

"I can see where this is gonna go, ready guys?"asked Dracomon turning to Veemon and Falcomon.

"Ready" nodded the two in unison.

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to… Flamedramon_

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

"I'm not waiting for them to attack first, Fire Rocket" called out Flamedramon throwing several fire balls toward the incoming Mothmon. The Mothmon avoided the attack and began to swarm over the Digidestined team.

"Double Strike!" yelled Yasyamon knocking a few incoming Mothmon away with his twin wooden blades. "Come on, anybody else want to take a shot at me"

The Mothmon all gathered above the group and aimed their weapons toward the ground. The controlled Digimon let out a barrage of small, tiny yellow colored balls of energy to rain upon the ground. The impacts from each attack caused a cloud of dirt to cover the team. A scream was heard throughout the blinding cloud of dust which was quickly recognized by Hawkmon. As the dirt cloud faded, the group looked up to see the Mothmon flying away with Ann in tow.

"Guys! Help!" screamed Ann as she was carried away by the insect swarm.

"Ann!" shouted Hawkmon and TJ together. Hawkmon immediately took off and pursued the Mothmon.

"Come on, if we carry you guys, we should be able to catch up to them" spoke Flamedramon. The remaining Digidestined climbed onto their partner's backs and began to follow the Mothmon swarm to a distant piece of land covered by dark clouds.

--

"Let me go! Let me go!" struggled Ann as she was being carried away by the Mothmon. She was soon dropped onto the ground with a loud thud "I meant let me go gently"

Ann looked around to see that the blue sky had been replaced with dark clouds. She soon noticed a small white pillar next to her holding a Digital Drive Core containing the Crest of Faith sitting at the top of the pillar. Ann quickly pulled her Drive Core off the pillar and examined the glass sphere closely.

"Congratulations, you found your Drive Core" sneered Corvus appearing before Ann in a puff of black smoke.

"You're… You're a Digital Reaper" stuttered Ann.

"Why yes I am little girl, I decided to be a nice guy today and had the Mothmon bring you here so you could find your Digital Drive Core. Now, how about you return that kindness and hand over that Drive Core to me" spoke Corvus holding out his hand.

"Give this to you? Never!" shouted Ann.

"I don't think you have a choice little girl. You can give the core to me now freely or I can have the Mothmon make you give it to me. The choice is yours." said Corvus slowly approaching Ann.

"Get away from my partner, Feather Strike!" echoed a voice suddenly. A small feather quickly struck Corvus's hand causing him to move away from Ann. Hawkmon quickly landed in front of Ann looking ready for a fight.

"Stupid bird… that hurt you know" growled Corvus rubbing his injured hand. "Go ahead, use that Drive Digivolution and try to stop my Mothmon swarm. Come on, I dare you to do it. I guarantee you won't last long alone"

"She's not going to fight alone, Fire Rocket" cried Flamedramon destroying several Mothmon with his flaming attack. The hit Mothmon fell to the ground turning into puddles of black goo. Flamedramon, Yasyamon, and Shurimon took their places around Ann and Hawkmon giving TJ, Ricky, and Trey a chance to join up with Ann.

"You alright?" asked TJ looking over Ann.

"I am now that you're here" smiled Ann, blushing a little.

"Got a situation going on here" pointed out Trey staring up at the Mothmon swarm preparing for another barrage of attacks.

"Ready to join the fight Hawkmon?" questioned Ann readying her Drive Core and Digivice.

"Time to take to the skies again" grinned Hawkmon.

"Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!" cried Ann.

_Hawkmon Drive Digivolved to… Halsemon_

Halsemon took to the skies in a bright flash of white light. She had the same crimson red feathers as Hawkmon but was much large in size and could stand on four of her dark yellow claws. Halsemon wore a large silver helmet on her forehead with long wing like structures attached to the sides of the helmet.

"You all can't defeat my Mothmon swarm. Mothmon, attack!" commanded Corvus.

"We'll see about that, Double Stars" challenged Shurimon throwing his twin shurikens at the Mothmon Swarm. The Mothmon struck with the Mothmon fell to the ground before ultimately fading into the usual puddles of black slime.

"Allow me to wrap thing up here, Tempest Wing!" yelled Halsemon. Halsemon began to spin in around and around forming a massive cyclone around her. She then guided the cyclone into the Mothmon swarm capturing all the evil Digimon within its vortex. Halsemon then flew out of the massive twister leaving the Mothmon to be destroyed the crushing force of the wind. "That takes care of them"

"Wow, must have miss calculated this one… later kids" said Corvus fading away into a cloud of black haze. The Digidestined team regrouped before the white pillar while their partners reverted back to their rookie forms.

"You ok Ann? Those Mothmon didn't hurt you did they?" questioned Hawkmon with a concerned tone.

"No, I'm fine. I'm so glad you guys showed up when you did or else something really bad could have happened." said Ann.

"Trust me, if Corvus had laid a finger on you, he'd be in a world of hurt right now" said TJ clutching his fists together.

"The others are gonna be glad to hear that we found another Drive Core" said Veemon.

"Yeah, and if the others find their Drive Cores at the locations they went to go visit then everybody will have found their Drive Cores." added Trey.

"We should head back guys" suggested Ricky.

"Our work here is done. Wish we could get rid of those clouds though" said Falcomon staring into the dark sky above.

"We'll figure it out one day. Hopefully one day soon" spoke Dracomon


	17. Ch 17 Angel Amongst the Stars

_**Ch. 17 Angel Amongst the Stars**_

A star filled sky, elegant music, the scent of delicious food, and chatter amounts the many party guests filled the air this night. The grand opening dinner for Helix Corp was set inside the building's main hall. The building's interior was the perfect example of high class with its black marble floors, golden outlining, and exquisite artwork. The colossal windows along the walls allowed the serene night sky to be seen. Albert, Jennifer, and Michelle sat together at one of the many tables scattered around the room, their partners hiding under their seats currently in their in-training forms.

"I forgot how boring these formal dinners could be" sighed Albert.

"The food tastes great though" spoke Wanyamon.

"Yeah, I've never had anything like this before" added Tsunomon.

"Keep it down guys. We don't want anybody to find you" spoke Michelle suddenly.

"Think anybody will see us?" asked Moonmon.

"They didn't see you coming in so I think you all should be good" replied Jennifer.

"Enjoying the party kids?" questioned a voice suddenly from behind the Digidestined trio.

"Uh… yes Dr. Taylor, never been to a party like this before" answered Albert with a laugh. The group turned to see an older man with short, dirty blonde hair and light blue eyes smiling at the three of them.

"Thanks for giving us the chance to come here Dr. Taylor," added Michelle.

"It was no problem at all Michelle. I didn't know Albert had such a sweet girlfriend to bring along with him" said Dr. Taylor.

"Girlfriend?" said Albert confused.

"Two of Helix Corporations head researchers will be here soon to commence the dinner. I'll introduce you three to them later so just have some fun in the mean time." spoke Dr. Taylor leaving the three of them.

"I didn't know the two of you were boyfriend and girlfriend" grinned Jennifer.

"You two make such a cute couple" continued Moonmon.

"We're not dating" spoke the two of them in unison.

--

Back in the Digital World, Brandi, Salamon, Ashley, Lalamon, Winona, Renamon, Javi, and Monodramon were hot on the trail of a newly discovered Digital Drive Core's signal. They followed the stone walkways of the Star Garden with Brandi leading the group using her D-Dex as a guide. As the name implied, the Star Garden was set beneath a star filled sky and a gorgeous crescent moon. Rows and rows of multicolored flowers were planted along the stone pathways along with many patches of roses scattered amongst the fields of green grass.

"I hope the D-Reapers haven't taken over this place. It's to pretty for them to corrupt" said Ashley.

"The skies are still clear so I think everything should be ok for now" spoke Lalamon.

"We getting close to that signal yet?" asked Monodramon looking over to Brandi.

"We're almost there, we just got a bit more to go" answered Brandi staring at the signal being displayed on her D-Dex screen.

The group continued to follow the stone pathway until they reached the very center of the Star Garden. The pathway opened up to a great stone circle with a beautiful silver fountain in the center of the circle. Crystal clear water poured from the edges of the fountain into a large pool at the base of the fountain. The item atop the fountain was what immediately caught the group's attention. A Drive Core bearing the Crest of Affection sat quietly at the top of the fountain surrounded by the pristine water.

"Hey, we finally found a Drive Core without a D-Reaper or some evil Digimon appearing" smiled Javi.

"We have company" spoke Renamon suddenly taking a battle stance.

"You just had to jinx it didn't you Javi?" glared Winona.

A group of Digimon sprang out from the patches of flowers, surrounding the group of Digidestined. The Digimon had star shaped bodies and wore dark blue gloves and boots attached to the black limbs emitted from the center of the main body. A yellow ribbon could be seen coming out from back of the oddly shaped Digimon.

"Starmon…" read Winona from her D-Dex "Champion level Digimon that only fight for the side of good. They have an attack called Meteor Shower where they can summon a horde of meteorites to rain upon their enemies."

"If they fight for good then why do they look like they're gonna attack us?" asked Lalamon nervously.

"Cause they work for me" spoke Ara appearing before the team in a puff of black smoke "And so will you once I dispose of your little partners there"

"Do we really have to fight?" questioned Brandi.

"You know what's going to happen in the end anyways" added Salamon.

"You good goodies make me sick. I can't wait for you Digidestined brats to see our way of thinking. Starmon, eliminate them" ordered Ara.

"This ought to be fun" grinned Monodramon.

_Lalamon Drive Digivolved to… Butterflymon_

_Renamon Drive Digivolved to… Kabukimon_

_Monodramon Drive Digivolved to… Pteramon_

"Scales of the Shining Bolts" cried Butterflymon starting the battle and launching her electric attack toward the Starmon. The Starmon leapt into the air, avoiding the attack then raised their hands into the air. A sudden swarm of small rocks began to form then fly toward the Digimon team.

"Cherry Blossom Storm" yelled Kabukimon intercepting the attack with her razor sharp petal attack.

"Missile Storm" followed up Pteramon shooting off his missiles toward the Starmon. The Starmon struck with the attack were immediately turned into globs of black slime that splattered onto the patches of flowers.

"I can't let you pests stop our work!" screamed Ara making a dash for the Drive Core at the peak of the fountain.

"Quickly Brandi, grab your Drive Core" urged Salamon.

"Right," said Brandi running over to the fountain and reaching for the glass orb. The Drive Core was too far for her to grab without falling into the fountain's water.

"Don't you dare touch that" growled Ara coming closer to the fountain. Javi quickly tackled Ara to the ground and held her there.

"Grab the orb Brandi!" yelled Javi struggling to keep Ara down.

"Get off me you stupid child" barked Ara trying to push Javi off of her. Brandi quickly leapt into the fountains cold water and grabbed the Drive Core from its resting place.

"I think you need an attitude adjustment. Let's get rid of Ara and the Starmon Salamon" spoke Brandi readying the Drive Core and her Digivice.

"I'm with you Brandi" said Salamon.

"Unleash, Digital Drive Accelerate!" cried Brandi.

_Salamon Drive Digivolved to… Nefertimon_

Nefertimon took flight into the sky through a burst of white light. She wore silver armor with a gold trim bearing several pink gems on its surface. She had a snow white body along with large white wings and bore yellow gloves on her paws with red markings on them. The helmet Nefertimon wore made her closely resemble a sphinx.

"Not another one" sighed Ara.

"Yes another one" gloated Javi.

"Get off me" sneered Ara knocking Javi off her with one quick slap across the face.

"Your kind do not belong in such a beautiful place, allow me to show you the way out, Isis Beam" cried Nefertimon taking flight around the central garden. Several beams of pink colored light shot off from Nefertimon's sliver gauntlets and struck several of the Starmon in succession. The Starmon began to melt into blobs of black slime one by one.

"This should dispose of the rest of them, Cherry Blossom Storm" added Kabukimon slicing through the Starmon with her elegant attack.

"No, this is not supposed to happen" pouted Ara.

"Someone's a little grumpy" laughed Ashley.

"Hey, I don't like it when people hurt my partner" glared Pteramon taking a spot in front of Ara and aiming his missile turrets at her.

"I'm outta here. I'll let Orion deal with my anger" spoke Ara disappearing in a sudden rush or black energy.

"Orion?" questioned Winona as Ara faded away while the team returned to their rookie forms.

"You ok Javi?" asked Monodramon.

"Yeah, not like that's the first time that's ever happened" grinned Javi.

"Boy does he have that right" giggled Brandi turning her attention to Salamon who leapt into her arms "You were amazing Salamon"

"Thanks, so were you. I didn't think you'd jump into the fountain to get the Drive Core." said Salamon.

"Are we already to head back now" questioned Renamon.

"Looks like it, I'm gonna need dryer clothes back home" answered Brandi. The team began to ready their Digivices for a return trip home.

"Orion…" spoke Winona silently to herself.


	18. Ch 18 Rock Solid

_**Ch. 18 Rock Solid**_

"How much longer till the corporation heads show up?" asked Jennifer.

"Yeah, I'm getting bored" complained Moonmon from under the table.

"They should be making their appearance any minute now" answered Albert looking at his watch.

"Think they'll be nice?" questioned Michelle.

"You won't know till you meet them." replied Tsunomon.

"I think something is happening" spoke Wanyamon suddenly. The lights in the room began to dim down as the music from the band began to grow silent. All the people in the room turned their attention to the grand staircase at the far end of the room. Three figures appeared at the top of the staircase and began to make their way down to the base of the stairs.

"Ladies and gentleman please welcome three of tonight's hosts, owner of Helix Corporation Mr. Fredric Conway, the head of technological development Dr. Baron Von Drake, and the head of medical research Dr. Lidia Holloway" introduced the MC.

Dr. Baron Von Drake had snow white hair combed to the side and seemed to be very old as shown by the wrinkles on his face. He wore a pair of thin, half-moon glasses and wore a black suit. Dr. Lidia Holloway was short with black hair tied back into a bun and seemed to be middle aged. She wore a long red dress that reached just above her ankles. The trio finally reached the ground floor and began to talk with the parties patrons while the evening's activities continued.

"Guess Dr. Taylor wants us to come over and meet them" said Albert noticing Dr. Taylor beckoning him and his friends to come over. The trio made their way over to Dr. Taylor, slowly making their way through the crowds of people.

--

"I should have gone with Brandi's group, this place is so dull" sighed Kayla. Kayla, Lopmon, Andrew, Guilmon, Cody, Agumon, Diego, and Coronamon were all standing in the center of Stone Canyon surrounded by walls of jagged, pale grey colored rocks. A grey colored sky could be seen above the team, adding to the dull nature of the region.

"At least we won't be here long" said Guilmon.

"The signal from my Drive Core is pretty close to us" added Andrew scanning over his D-Dex.

"Think one of the D-Reapers is here?" asked Diego.

"I won't be surprised if one of them showed up soon" spoke Coronamon.

"Then let's go find that core already" said Agumon.

"A fight in this place would be hard to pull off. There are too many natural hazards to deal with here" examined Cody. Andrew took the lead, guiding the group through the canyon is search of his drive core. The Digidestined team made their way through the pathways of stone until they reached a large opening in the canyon. A stone circle was carved out from the grey stone. In the center of the ring of stones sat the final drive core. Andrew's and Guilmon's eyes widened as they saw the drive core bearing the Crest of Honesty within, silently sitting in the center of the ring.

"It's the Drive Core" cheered Lopmon.

"Told you it wouldn't take long" smiled Guilmon. Andrew and Guilmon ran over to the circle and reached the core. Andrew quickly lifted the glass orb and examined it.

"Something wrong bro?" asked Kayla looking at her brother. Cody was glaring around the circle looking ready for a fight.

"That was way too easy."

"Perceptive aren't you" laughed Fornax appearing on the far edge of the ring.

"It's you" growled Agumon and Coronamon.

"Hope you all like my arena." spoke Fornax snapping his fingers. The area began to rumble as four Digimon burst from beneath the rings surface. The Digimon resembled tortoises with sharp, rigged stones emerging from their backs and heads. They all had tan colored hides along with blackened eyes.

"Tortomon, champion level reptile type Digimon. They've got a rough attack called Tough Carapace where they launch the stones on their back to strike down their enemies" informed Diego reading the data off his D-Dex.

"I remember these Digimon. It was a Tortomon who attacked TJ and Veemon on their first trip to the Digital World." said Cody.

"Ah, the memories" smiled Agumon.

"If you don't mind children, I have other pressing matters to attend to. Tortomon attack!" commanded Fornax as he faded away in a puff of black smoke.

"Time for a fight buddy" said Diego readying his Digivice.

"I'm always ready for one of those" grinned Coronamon.

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

"It's our turn to help our, ready Guilmon?" asked Andrew readying his Drive Core and Digivice.

"Right behind you Andrew" replied Guilmon.

"Unleashed, Digital Drive Accelerate!" shouted Andrew.

_Guilmon Drive Digivolved to… Stegomon_

Stegomon let out a lour roar as he appeared before the group. He had a dark teal colored hide along with a light green underbelly marked with orange markings. Along Stegomon's back were rows of sharp, black blades with a black helmet on his head. All the Tortomon's shells began to glow. They then launched a barrage of rocks toward Stegomon.

"This'll stop those, Shell Needle Rain!" cried Stegomon shooting off the blades on his back toward the incoming attack. The blades intercepted all incoming stones and destroyed them. "Anyone want to try that again?"

"Let's finish this up, Dino Burst" shouted Allomon sending out his flames, destroying one of the Tortomon.

"Talon Arrow" added Bucchiemon throwing her pink arrows toward another Tortomon.

"Matador Dash" continued Bullmon ramming directly into another one of the enemy Digimon.

"I got the last one, Shell Needle Rain" finished Stegomon obliterating the final Tortomon with his razor sharp blade attack. The enemy Digimon became nothing but black puddles of slime after the barrage of attacks.

"That'll do it" said Stegomon returning to his rookie form along with the other Digimon.

"That was easy" smiled Kayla.

"It was like they weren't even trying that time" added Lopmon.

"Did I do a good job?" asked Guilmon looking up at Andrew.

"Good? That was an excellent job buddy. Nothing will be able to stop you in your Drive form." smiled Andrew.

"Come on guys, let's get home before it gets too late" said Agumon.

"Yeah, hopefully the other found their drive cores" spoke Diego.

"I'm sure they got their cores just as easily as we did" assured Coronamon.

"Yeah, now that we all got our Drive Cores, we can focus on getting rid of the D-Reapers" smiled Cody. The team all nodded with the thought then began to make their way home.

--

"So you're Dr. Taylor's new apprentice" said Dr. Lidia shaking Albert's hand.

"I guess you could say that" laughed Albert.

"My, what lovely ladies you brought with you" bowed Dr. Drake.

"Aww… Thank you" blushed Michelle.

Dr. Drake began to examine the trio of Digidestined carefully, "I can't help but think I've seen you kids somewhere before"

"Well these kids are constantly out helping the community. Wouldn't surprise me if you've seen them around every now and then" praised Dr. Taylor.

"I'm sure that's where we've seen you three. We must be off, there are many other people for us to greet. Nice meeting you three." smiled Dr. Lidia. She and Dr. Drake left the trio and walked off into the crowd.

"Well I best be off to, you three are welcome to stay and enjoy the party a bit more or take off. It is getting late. I'll see you kids later" said Dr. Taylor leaving the group.

"We'd better leave guys, I'm sure the others are probably back from the Digital World already" spoke Albert. The trio agreed with the idea and began to leave the party with their partners sneaking behind them.

"You know, if you were to put those tribal makings on Dr. Lidia's forehead, she'd look just like Lyra" figured Michelle.

"I know, Dr. Drake looks a lot like Crux" thought out Jennifer.

"They couldn't be the same people… right?" asked Tsunomon jumping into Michelle's arms.

"I doubt it but…" began Albert.


	19. Ch 19 Sign of a Digidestined

_**Ch. 19 Sign of a Digidestined**_

"So what's on the agenda for today?" asked Trey. Then entire Digidestined team met at their usual base of operations to discuss their next plan of action against the Digital Reapers.

"Well, we got all the drive cores just like Wizardmon said to do, so I guess we should go talk to him and find out what to do next?" thought out Kayla.

"Actually he sent us a message so that won't be necessary" spoke Winona typing away on her laptop.

"What does it say?" asked Falcomon trying to look onto the laptop's screen.

"Wizardmon says that our next course of action should be to begin purifying the Digital World and get rid of the evil the D-Reapers have spread. He says to send the new Digidestined along with Albert and Kayla to an area called the Data Ruins to meet with an old friend." read Winona.

"Me and TJ will go to just in case they need back up there" said Cody.

"Sounds good to me" smiled Agumon.

"Wonder who Wizardmon wants us to meet" said Veemon in thought.

"Guess we'll find out when we go" said TJ readying his Digivice. Winona finished setting up her laptop to the desired location then moved to allow the group heading out to assemble before it.

"Digiport Open!" called out the entire group altogether sending them through the computer screen and into the Digital World. They appeared in a grassy field with a set of old buildings being visible in the distance.

"Think that's where we're supposed to go?" asked Ashley pointing to the castle in the distance.

"Probably" replied Lalamon.

"We 're supposed to go to the Data Ruins and that's the only place that looks ruin like around here" said Diego.

"Then let's start moving" said Coronamon. The entire group made their way over to the ruins set far in the distance. The closer they got to the ancient building, the more they noticed their surroundings to change. More abandoned structures began to surround the team along with their pathway switching from grass to stone. The team continued to make their way through the ruins until the older Digidestined saw a familiar Digimon standing at the base of a towering chapel. The chapel seemed to be built from grey stones and appeared to be well kept. The Digimon standing before the chapel resembled a lion with tan colored fur, wore ripped black pants and was tall in stature with a muscular physic.

"I should have guessed it" smiled Cody.

"It's been awhile hasn't it Leomon?" yelled TJ.

"I must say, you children have grown since the last I saw you" spoke Leomon as the group assembled before him.

"It's only been a couple of years" smiled Albert.

"So these are the new Digidestined I see" spoke Leomon turning his attention to the new members to the Digidestined team.

"Yep, this is Trey, Diego, Ashley, Ricky, and Jennifer along with their partners Dracomon, Coronamon, Lalamon, Falcomon, and Lunamon." introduced Kayla.

"This is Leomon guys, he helped us out when we started off as Digidestined" explained Cody.

"Wow, you must be really strong to keep up with the older Digidestined all those years ago" said Jennifer.

"You're making us feel old" sighed Veemon.

"I wish the circumstances for our meeting were better but I assume you know of the group of humans working to destroy our world?" asked Leomon.

"The D-Reapers? Yes, we know them" replied Lunamon.

"Have you found away to stop them?" asked Dracomon eagerly.

"I might have discovered away but let us move inside and discuss this matter. I cannot allow the reapers to here the information I have to share." said Leomon leading the team into the chapel.

"We'll stay out here then and make sure no one messes with you guys then" spoke Cody.

"Yeah, just fill us in later" added TJ. Leomon nodded and lead the new Digidestined along with Kayla and Albert into the structure while TJ, Cody, Veemon, and Agumon stood guard outside. The interior of the chapel was made from white marble with several pillars holding up the massive ceiling. The group took notice at the varying stained glass windows throughout the building then joined Leomon at the end of the chapel.

"Digidestined, though our world is being shrouded by shadows, there is a way to purify the Digital World to its former the mural before you." informed Leomon guiding the groups attending to a painted mural on the wall. The mural depicted a five fountain like structures set in a circular pattern being surrounded by all the Digidestine's crest symbols along with five great beasts looking over the crests.

"That looks so cool" admired Ashley as she used her D-Dex to snap a quick picture of the mural.

"Are those the Digimon Sovereigns?" asked Albert pointing to the beast like depictions.

"Yes, this mural shows us how to purify the Digital World. When the Digital World was reborn, after the original Digidestined defeated the true Master of Darkness, the Digimon Sovereigns created five Sacred Springs, each containing a fountain holding the very essence of their beings. The fountains contain the power to purify the hemispheres of the Digital World they are located in." explained Leomon.

"So, tell us where the fountains are and we'll go use their power to purify the Digital World" said Diego sounding excited over their new mission.

"That'll show those D-Reapers whose boss around here" smirked Ricky.

""I wish this task was simple but it will prove to be very difficult. The location of the fountains are a closely guarded secret and only the Digidestined selected by the sovereign who created the spring will be allowed to enter the Sacred Spring once they present their crests." spoke Leomon.

"The new guys don't even have their tags and crests yet. Who knows where those could be hidden." sighed Gaomon.

"That issue has been solved already my friend" smiled Leomon reaching behind his back.

"It so quiet and boring out here" sighed Agumon.

"Yeah, wonder if they're any D-Reapers hiding around here" wondered Veemon.

"Be glad we don't have to fight for once" said TJ taking a seat on the front steps of the chapel.

"Yeah, we don't get chances like this to often" added Cody.

"Is this a private party or can anyone attend?" giggled a voice. The team turned their attention to a sudden swirl of black smoke before them and saw Ara step forth from it.

"You're not on the list" smirked Cody taking a fighting stance alongside his partner along with TJ and his partner.

"Oh, but I brought the party favors." laughed Ara snapping her fingers and causing several Digimon to appear around her. The Digimon resembled ogres with green colored bodies and had messy white hair. The Digimon wore black colored arm band, a black loin cloth, and carried a giant club made from bone in it hand. All the Digimon bore the signs of a corrupted Digimon.

"Ogremon, champion level Digimon that are bounty hunters and have an attack called Pummel Whack." read TJ from his D-Dex.

"Ready when you guys are" said Agumon getting ready for battle.

"Are those the new Digidestine's tags and crests?" asked Kayla starring at the items in awe.

"Yes, when the Digital Reapers began to invade our world, I set out to find these items. It wasn't an easy task but I have managed to find them all so that I could present them to the new Digidestined." answered Leomon. Leomon began to present the crest to the new Digidestined until the chapel began to rumble for a few seconds along with the sounds of fighting being heard.

"I think the others are gonna need a hand soon" said Ricky.

"Then I'll have to make this fast. The Crest of Bravery for the one who can stand up to any enemy and protect those he cares about, Trey. The Crest of Honor for the one who will stand by his morals and not sway from the path of light, Ricky. The Crest of Verity for the one whose heart cannot be deceived and will always believe in truth, Ashley. The Crest of Vigor for the one whose has a heart filled with life and can share that life with others, Diego. Finally, the Crest of Innocence for the one whose heart is pure and cannot be deceived by darkness, Jennifer. To you Digidestined, I present your crests." Concluded Leomon holding out the tags and crests for the new Digidestined to grab. Each Digidestined took their tag and crest then quickly placed them around their necks.

"There is one thing that must be done. Albert, the Crest of Purity has the ability to activate the new tags and crests. Once active you will have all that you need to activate each fountain and purge the evil from our world. The fountains should also return all the crests power back to them" said Leomon.

"Which means we can Digivolve to the Ultimate and Mega levels again!" exclaimed Lopmon.

"Yes, though the power to move to the Mega form will require all the evil to be removed from the Digital World" informed Leomon.

"Then let's get these crests active." said Albert pulling out his Digivice. The new Digidestined held out their crests before them while Albert held out his Digivice and began to focus. Five white beams shot forth from his Digivice and struck each tag and crest combo causing them to glow for a few seconds then return to normal. After the process was done the chapel shook for a bit then stopped.

"We better go back up TJ and Cody" said Albert.

"You all ready?" asked Trey turning to the groups partners.

"Let's do it" chimed in all the partner Digimon.

"Fire Rocket!" cried Flamedramon knocking back several of the Ogremon.

"Dino Burst!" yelled Allomon using his flames to hold back the encroaching Ogremon. "Don't think we can keep this up for much longer"

"Are my Digimon to much for you?" asked Ara playfully.

"We're just getting warmed up" retorted TJ.

"Blow them away Ogremon then go for their little friends" ordered Ara.

"Pummel Whack" spoke the Ogremon thrusting their fists forward and sending several waves of dark energy toward Allomon and Flamedramon.

"Talon Arrow!" shouted Bucchiemon intercepting several of the incoming attacks with her pink arrow storm.

"Scales of the Shining Bolts" added Butterflymon stopping the remaining attacks.

"Matador Dash" cried Bullmon plowing through the Ogremon army and throwing them into the air.

"Double Stars" said Shurimon taking advantage of the helpless, evil Digimon being flung in the air. The ninja Digimon's stars quickly cut through the Ogremon and returned them to black, goo like form.

"Spinning Cutter" spoke Rinkmon cutting through evil Digimon with her blades.

"Horn Blade" added Moosemon slashing threw the Ogremon and turning them to nothing but black slime.

"I'll wrap this up, Double Strike" cried Yasyamon finishing off the last of the Ogremon with a few swipes of his wooden blades.

"You Digidestined are no fun, I'm out of here" said Ara stomping her feet and disappearing into a swirling black vortex.

"That's what I call team work" shouted TJ in triumph.

"That was excellent work Digidestined" congratulated Leomon.

"So what did you all talk about?" asked Cody turning to Albert and Kayla.

"Let's just say we got our work cut out for us this time" laughed the pair.


	20. Ch 20 Plan Against the Shadows

_**Ch. 20 Plan Against the Shadows**_

"Those Digidestined brats are getting on my last nerve" growled Ara. The Digital Reapers met in their usual hideaway to discuss recent matters.

"Things were so much easier when they weren't around" commented Corvus.

"And with each trip they make to the Digital World, they just become stronger and stronger." added Fornax.

"Shall we increase our efforts before the Digidestined interfere further?" asked Lyra.

"It might be for the best is we do. The Digidestined will soon find out about our ways of disrupting the Digital World's balance and begin to rid this place of our influence. I do wish we had more time to prepare our final project but it seems that the Digidestined will ruin our research if allowed to dig deeper into our plans." spoke Crux.

"What about Orion?" questioned Fornax.

"The boy is to remain under our watch. If the Digidestined learned about his existence all would be ruined" replied Crux.

"More time to play with him I guess" said Ara giving a wicked smile.

"Don't be too rough with him, we need him alive for our experiments" spoke Lyra.

"So what's the plan for now?" asked Corvus.

"Continue with the main plan as scheduled. If the Digidestined interfere, then find away to dispose of them." ordered Crux. With that, all five members of the Digital Reapers vanished into the darkness that surrounded them.

"So let's recap what we know so far" thought out Cody. All the Digidestined had assembled in their home base's living room to plan with next move in the Digital World.

"We know that any area under control by the Digital Reapers prevents normal Digivolution" spoke Andrew.

"And we know that using the power of a Drive Core can allow us to bypass that barrier and have our Digimon Drive Digivolve." added Winona.

"The Digital Reapers are human, we can be sure of that now" put in Ricky.

"Although I doubt they have Digimon Partners since you need a Digivice to have one and they do not have Digivices. They only control other Digimon" said Falcomon.

"Then how can they enter the Digital World then?" questioned Brandi.

"Only people with Digivices can do that" said Salamon.

"One D-Reaper did mention the name Orion. Maybe that has some significance in this" input Renamon.

"Another Digidestined?" asked Guilmon.

"There are already a lot of us so it could be possible" figured Javi.

"I did take time until Kayla joined us" said Monodramon.

"We still don't know for sure though, we'd have to see this Orion to be sure of it" commented TJ.

"Yeah, for all we know it could be some project the reapers have set up" added in Diego.

"What else do we know?" asked Agumon.

"Well, if we can begin purifying the Digital World like Leomon said then we can Digivolve normally" said Lunamon.

"And if we find the Sacred Springs and purify the five regions of the Digital World then we all can Digivolve to the Ultimate level again" spoke Lopmon.

"Even to the Mega level if we can fully purify the Digital World" said Lalamon with excitement in her voice.

"Whatever that means" shrugged Coronamon.

"But Leomon also said the springs locations are closely guarded secrets" frowned Jennifer.

"With the Digital World being as big as it is, they could be anywhere" sighed Kayla.

"That's never stopped us before" smiled Gabumon.

"Kayla was a one in a million find and you all found here" added Hawkmon.

"We had her Digivice and crest to guide us to her though" said Michelle.

"Think you can sense out the light again like you did with Kayla Albert?" questioned Ann.

"Maybe even Kayla can do that" suggested Ashley.

"I don't think so. Every time me and Kayla have tried to sense light, it's always been from a living source like a human or Digimon. Not an inanimate object" replied Albert.

"Well that plans been shot down" said Veemon.

"Maybe not, what if we just purified area after area, clearing up the Digital World? That way all we'd have to do is check out the areas in a region that are still covered by shadows. Those places would have to the Sacred Springs hidden in them." figured Trey.

"We might be able to dig up some information on the springs just by visiting the Digital World and searching for clues" smiled Dracomon.

"So our plan for now will be what we have always done. Explore the Digital World, dig for information, and stop the D-Reapers if they're causing trouble" grinned Cody.

"No matter how old we get, something's won't ever change" laughed TJ as the other Digidestined members settled with this idea.

"Let's call it a night and have everyone get some rest. Got a lot of work ahead of us" said Agumon. The group agreed and began to make their trips home, their work in the Digital World only seeming to have just begun.

She didn't know where she was. She stood alone, on top of a strange circle imprinted with various symbols. She could recognize several of the symbols belonging to the other Digidestine's crest but there were several others alongside them. The entire ring began to glow in a dark, malevolent light. Suddenly, flames shot out from the sides of the ring, preventing her from escaping. Eight figures cloaked in darkness could be seen watching her from behind the wall of flames.

"Who are you!" called out the girl but to no avail, the figures would not respond to her cry.

She took notice of one of the figures. A slight, flicker of light could be seen emanating from its body but seemed to be overtaken by the shadows. The girl could feel two figures standing beside her, facing the cloaked figures with her. Oddly enough, their presence seemed familiar to her.

"You don't have to be scared of it you know" spoke one of the figures beside her with a female sounding tone.

"You just gotta face it head on" added the other figure with a male sounding tone. The trio turned their attention to the figure trying to let its light break free from the surrounding darkness.

"Help me…" begged the figure.

"You brats" spoke out a sinister sounding voice. "You'll never stop me this time" After that the flames began to grow more and more. Soon she found herself becoming engulfed by the fire. All she could do was let out a loud scream then awaken.

"You ok Jennifer?" asked the newly Digivolved Lunamon.

"I… think so…" panted Jennifer looking around her room.

"Bad dream?" asked Lunamon.

"Terrible nightmare is more like it" sighed Jennifer returning to her pillow.

"Don't worry, with me here nothing will get to you" assured Lunamon.

"Thanks Lunamon, I'm so glad I got to meet you" spoke Jennifer as she returned to her slumber.

"They're back aren't they" frowned Gaomon. Albert sat up in his bed covered in a cold sweat, panting for air.

"Yeah, felt real this time. I got the feeling that the Digital Reapers are gonna be the least of our problems soon" said Albert. "I'd better talk to Kayla tomorrow and see if she's having the same dreams."

"Done you worry Albert, I'll be here to protect you and I promise to never leave your side." assured Gaomon.

"Thanks Gaomon, looks like our late nights are gonna continue again" said Albert with a slight laugh.

"That's no problem, I'll be right here whenever you need me" smiled Gaomon. Albert gave his partner a quick hug then returned to sleep with his digital partner right by him.


	21. Ch 21 The Lost Labyrinth

_**Ch. 21 The Lost Labyrinth**_

Another beautiful day had come to Lakeview. The sky was clear and the faint, essence of fall was in the air. Out by the Digidestine's home base, Trey, Diego, Ricky, Kayla, Jennifer, and Ashley were moving as quickly and as quietly as possible. Once inside their home away from home, they let out a slight sigh of relief.

"I swear Trey, if we get in trouble for ditching class…" growled Jennifer.

"We won't get caught" said Trey sounding annoyed "Besides, the school assembly is all that's going on for the rest of the day. I doubt they'll notice any of us missing"

"Can't argue with that logic" laughed Diego as he began to climb the staircase "I'll go find our buddies"

"We might not like it but any time we can get away and look for the Sacred Springs would help us a lot" said Ricky taking a seat on the couch and setting up his laptop for a trip to the Digital World.

"I guess one afternoon away from school won't hurt" figured Ashley.

"Besides, who's gonna catch us all alone out here?" shrugged Kayla.

"And what are y'all doing out of school?" asked Cody appearing from the cabins back entrance.

"Busted" laughed Agumon walking in with Cody.

"Would you believe class was canceled?" answered Trey with a nervous laugh. "Wait… what are you doing here this early?"

"Senior, I don't have to go to freshman assemblies. Besides, I'm off in the afternoons. Wait till I tell mom you skipped Kayla"

"You wouldn't unless you want mom to know about the times you skipped" smirked Kayla.

"I think we've been caught guys" said Diego coming down the stairs with the teams partners. Following the new Digidestined partners down the stairs was Albert and Gaomon.

"You think?" laughed Coronamon.

"Cody's rubbing off on you guys, not in the good way though" smiled Albert.

"How is this my fault?" questioned Cody looking annoyed.

"We just wanted to do some investigating in the Digital World" spoke out Jennifer.

"You can't blame them for wanting to get a head start and help our world can you?" asked Dracomon.

"What's done is done, better make the most of it and have us all go to the Digital World" reasoned Falcomon.

"Sounds like a plan, where we headed today?" asked Cody.

"Some place called the Lost Labyrinth. It's near the center of the Digital World so I figure it's the best place to start searching for those springs." answered Ricky.

"Sounds like a fun place to visit" giggled Lalamon.

"They always start out like that" sighed Lopmon and Gaomon together. The team gathered in front of the computer screen and readied their Digivices.

"Digiport Open" cried the group together. The screen began to glow in a bright light and pulled the team into the screen and transported them to their location. The team was place on a grey colored stone walk way surrounded by a thick jungle like terrain. Five large stone pillars surrounded them all leaning forward and connecting at one point high above the team. Before the Digidestined band laid a stone staircase leading into the depths of the earth.

"Guess we need to head downward to start exploring" figured Lunamon. The group began to follow the staircase downward, guided by the light from the torches along the wall. They continued their descent into the maze until they reached a circular room with two entryways on the opposite sides of the room.

"Looks like we'll have to split up to cover more ground" said Cody.

"How about you, me, Diego, and Ashley take the path on the right?" suggested Trey.

"Which leaves me with Kayla, Jennifer, and Ricky heading left" continued Albert.

"Sounds good to me" said Agumon. The group agreed with the idea and headed for their agreed paths. Trey's team walked through the maze's hallways, trying to find some form of useful information. Most times the team would find a dead end with several odd symbols written on the walls.

"Wish I knew what those symbols meant" said Diego

"You and me both" sighed Coronamon.

"Anything major we should be on the lookout for?" asked Ashley turning to Cody.

"Not really but we'll know when we find it" answered Cody.

"It's not very fun when we're going at this blind" frowned Lalamon.

"You guys hear something funny behind us?" said Dracomon suddenly.

"Yeah, it sounds like… a horse is right behind us." replied Trey. The team could see a figure slowly approaching them from behind. The figure seemed to resemble an orange skinned centaur with purple, orb like growths all over its body. It had a tin colored cannon attached to its right hand along with a set of miniature jets on its back and a grey helmet.

"That's a Centarumon" said Ashley scanning the Digimon with he D-Dex "He's a champion level Digimon and can use that cannon on his arm to perform his Solar Ray attack"

"Think he's friendly?" asked Coronamon. Centarumon began to take aim with his cannon then fired a shot of golden colored energy toward the team barely missing them.

"Guess not, let's get to work guys" said Dracomon

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

_Lalamon Drive Digivolved to… Butterflymon_

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

"Dino Burst" cried Allomon attacking Centarumon with his stream of fire.

"Double Strike" added Yasyamon following up Allomon's attack with a couple quick strikes from his twin swords. Centarumon fell back and collapsed forming a puddle of black sludge.

"Got him" smiled Trey.

"There's another one coming at us from the left pathway" spoke out Ashley.

"I got this one, Matador Dash" shouted Bullmon plowing into the incoming Centarumon with his attack.

"Got another one on the right" said Diego.

"Leave it to me, Scales of the Shining Bolt" said Butterflymon frying the enemy Digimon with her electric attack. Both defeated Digimon entered their goo like forms revealing several more Centarumon heading for the group.

"We'd better move guys before they surround us" said Cody.

"Where do we go?" questioned Diego.

"Just keep picking hall ways and hope we don't hit a dead end" replied Trey.

"I hope the others are having better luck than us" spoke Ashley as the group began to run down one of the empty hallways, the Centarumon hot on their trail.

"Spinning Cutter!" cried Rinkmon slicing through the Centarumon blocking the group's path. As with Cody's team, Albert and his group had run into a herd of corrupt Centarumon.

"Should have known this place would be filled with evil Digimon" sighed Kayla.

"When have we ever visited a place without them" laughed Albert.

"Double Stars" said Shurimon stopping an incoming attack with his ninja stars.

"Horn Blade" added Moosemon cutting down the attacking Digimon.

"We better find a way out soon or else we'll be lost and fighting off more of these guys, Talon Arrow" cried Bucchiemon stopping one of the incoming Centarumon.

"Any one of these pathways could be where we need to go" said Jennifer.

"Just have to figure out which one to take" continued Ricky.

"There's got to be a guide in here somewhere" thought out Albert as he scanned each pathway. He took notice of several odd markings on the floor of one of the pathways. "This looks promising"

"What if it's a trap?" questioned Jennifer.

"It's better than nothing" figured Kayla. The team followed the marked pathway until they reached a large, golden wall with engravings of all the Digidestine's crests on its surface.

"Oh great a dead end" frowned Bucchiemon. Before anybody could say another word, Albert's, Kayla's, and Jennifer's crests began to glow. Suddenly, the wall began to recede into the floor, revealing another circular room behind it.

"Should we go in?" questioned Ricky.

"Either that or go back into the maze and fight off more Centarumon." replied Moosemon.

"Option one works" said Shurimon as the team entered the newly revealed room. Once the squad was all inside the chamber, the gold wall sprung up from the floor, blocking their route out. The Digidestined team began to survey the room to find several murals painted along the rounded walls.

One mural depicted images of the Digimon sovereigns positioned over their domains in the Digital World. Above each of the five sovereigns were the crests they created though the image of Fanglongmon had four symbols around him rather than three. Below each great guardian was the image of a fountain like structure. A second mural showed a set of dark figures casting their shadows over a painted version of the Digital World while four figures stood on the opposite side of the painted plant, holding out their hands and illuminating the darkened parts of the Digital World. The third and final mural had a depiction of twin, sun like symbols and a moon like symbols colored in black. Each set of moon and sun like symbols were positioned around a large circle. A marking of the Destiny Gate was positioned between the two circles. In-between each mural was a set of writing unknown to both the Digidestined and their partners.

"Any idea what they mean?" said Kayla examining each mural.

Nope but I bet Wizardmon and his friends can figure it out" answered Albert taking a few quick photos of each mural with his D-Dex.

"Not to be a downer but we're kinda trapped in here" said Ricky observing the room.

"Maybe not, check this out" said Jennifer running over to an etching of a doorway in the stone wall. Shurimon took one of his two ninja stars and tapped against the wall until he heard a hollow sound emanate from the wall.

"There's a pathway behind here" spoke out Shurimon.

"I think we found a way out" smiled Moosemon.

After running through the various pathways of the labyrinth, Cody and his team reached the circular room where they began their trip into the lengthy maze.

"Think the others got out" panted Trey. Before anyone could respond, the wall between the two maze entryways collapsed revealing Albert and his team.

"You guys find anything good?" asked Cody.

"Oh yeah, we got some pictures to show you" grinned Albert.


	22. Ch 22 Repelling the Shadows

_**Ch. 22 Repelling the Shadows**_

"Help me… please… help me…" staggered the voice from the robed figure currently on the ground. Jennifer was in the same dark room, standing on the same dark ring. She tried to get close to the figure but seven more dark cloaked figures appeared before her and stopped her advancement. A stream of black flames soon separated her and the dark figures.

"You won't win child" mocked one voice.

"Just give up and allow the darkness to cover all" laughed another.

"Help… me…" spoke the one on the floor in pain. Before Jennifer could respond, the dark flames began to surround her, coming in closer and closer. It was at that moment that Jennifer snapped out from her slumber in a cold sweat.

"Another nightmare?" asked Lunamon taking a seat next to her partner.

"Yeah, they're getting worse" panted Jennifer.

"Maybe you should tell the others about them, maybe the older Digidestined can help you" suggested Lunamon.

"We all have so much to worry about now, I don't think I can bother them with my problems" sighed Jennifer laying back on her bed, Lunamon doing the same.

"Ok, but if your dreams get any more scarier you're gonna tell them right away. Until then I'll be here to protect you from those nightmares" assured Lunamon with a smile.

"Thank you Lunamon" smiled Jennifer giving Lunamon a hug then returning to sleep. Little did Jennifer know, two other Digidestined were suffering from the same nightmare.

The following morning at Lakeview High went normally for the Digidestined team. After their day was done, the Digidestined gathered at their usual headquarters to plan their next trip to the Digital World. Andrew, Winona, and Ricky all had their laptops out and were looking over the pictures Albert and his team took the previous day.

"Got any idea what they mean?" asked Javi.

"Nope, we sent them to Wizardmon and his friends but even they're having trouble deciphering what all this means" responded Winona.

"We'll figure it out, it will just take time" added Renamon.

"Until then we got to look for more clues to the springs locations" said Andrew.

"To bad we can't just sniff them out" spoke Guilmon.

"That would make things way to easy" said Hawkmon.

"And you know how the Digital World is, nothing is ever easy" laughed Monodramon.

"So where we going today?" asked Trey.

"I picked out this place called Emerald Forest that should be a good place to do some exploring in." replied Winona pulling up the area on her computer screen.

"Who's gonna go?" questioned Dracomon.

"Me and TJ have a late practice today so we're out" frowned Cody.

"We got choir practice" added Brandi pointing to herself then Michelle.

"Me, Ann, and Andrew can stay here and keep working on figuring out these photos" said Winona.

"How about we send the new guys?" figured Agumon "It'll be good for y'all to see how you work together."

"Sounds good but I say Albert and Javi should go to, just to back them up if need be" added TJ.

"Works for us" said Monodramon and Javi at the same time.

"Alright with you Albert?" asked Gaomon.

"Fine by me" smiled Albert. Trey, Diego, Ricky, Albert, Javi, Jennifer, Ashley, Kayla, and their respective partners gathered before the computer screen Winona had prepared for them.

"Here's hoping that we find something useful, Digiport Open!" cried Trey opening the gateway and pulling the team into the Digital World. Before the group knew it, they were standing in a lush forest. Tall trees surrounded them and reached high into the sky with their expanding branches. A grey sky could be seen through the openings between the trees.

"Guess the D-Reapers have already been here" sighed Diego.

"Looks like it" frowned Coronamon.

"I wish there was a way to get rid of those clouds they summon. The sunlight would make this place a lot prettier" added Ashley.

"So what should we do?" asked Lalamon.

"I say look for any more signs of the reapers being here, maybe they left something that we can use against them" thought out Trey. The group agreed with this idea and began to walk together through the forest. Jennifer let out a slight yawn as the team moved forward.

"Tired Jennifer?" asked Albert.

"A little, just haven't been sleeping to well. It's nothing though" said Jennifer, trying to play it off. Albert shot a quick glance to Kayla then to Gaomon. Both of whom returned the same look.

"Not sleeping well… like having nightmares?" questioned Kayla, trying to keep her voice down. Jennifer stopped walking and looked at Kayla with a surprised look.

"How did you…" began Jennifer.

"It's nothing new to Kayla and Albert" answered Lopmon.

"These two have had that problem since they began their trips here" added Gaomon.

"Told you the older Digidestined could help" said Lunamon sounding kinda annoyed.

"Let me guess, you're standing on a weird glowing ring, there are black flames surrounding you…" started Albert.

"People in cloaks kinda mocking you, another voice telling you to give up hope…" continued Kayla.

"And one figure crying out for help?" finished Jennifer. The last comment made the light Digidestined turn their heads.

"Ok, that's a new one." said Gaomon.

"Maybe the dreams vary from person to person?" suggested Lopmon.

"Maybe, if it helps Jennifer you can talk to us about them. Me and Kayla have found ways to control the bad dreams." spoke out Albert.

"Really?" said Lunamon.

"Yep, try thinking about happy memories and let them fill you up Jennifer. Memories that are deeply connected to you. That should be strong enough to hold the darkness back." spoke Kayla.

"Ok, I'll try it and thanks guys" smiled Jennifer.

"No problem, we Digidestined that were chosen to see through darkness always stick together" said Albert.

"The other are already way ahead, what's taking you guys" asked Ricky running up to Jennifer and the others with Falcomon.

"Jennifer needed some help with something" replied Kayla.

"We better catch up to the others, there is safety in numbers" said Falcomon.

"Alright, let go catch up to them" spoke Jennifer. The small team took off and caught up to the other Digidestined only to find them staring down one of the D-Reapers.

"Out for a little stroll" laughed Corvus.

"That would be none of your business" glared Trey.

"Oh really, I think I got something that'll make your trip more interesting. Gorillamon!" called out Corvus with a snap of his fingers. A group of tall Digimon with white fur and black skin on their hands, feet and chest appeared around the Digidestined team. They resembled gorillas except for the large, metal cannons attached to their right arms.

"Gorillamon, champion level beast type Digimon that use the cannons on their arms to use their Energy Cannon attack." read out Ashley from her D-Dex.

"This will be a barrel of fun for you" mocked Corvus.

"Go bananas and stop those guys" spoke Javi.

"Stop with the puns already" glared Kayla.

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

_Lalamon Drive Digivolved to… Butterflymon_

_Lunamon Drive Digivolved to… Rinkmon_

_Gaomon Drive Digivolved to… Moosemon_

_Monodramon Drive Digivolved to… Pteramon_

"Missile Storm!" called out Pteramon launching his missile attack. Some missiles hit their targets dissolving the evil Digimon into black slime; others were dodged by the Gorillamon team.

"Horn Blade" cried Moosemon.

"Matador Dash!" added Bullmon as they plowed through the enemy Digimon with their attacks.

"Energy Cannon" grunted some of the Gorillamon taking aim with the cannons. Several balls of yellow energy were launched toward the Digidestined.

"Talon Arrow!" shouted Bucchiemon stopping the attacks with her own pink arrow attack.

"Scales of the Shining Bolt" spoke Butterflymon using her electric attack to stop the remaining cannon attacks.

"Spinning Cutter" said Rinkmon gracefully slicing through the Gorillamon.

"Energy…" began the Gorillamon in a monotone voice.

"Not this time, Double Stars" cried Shurimon stopping the Gorillamon before they could continue their attacks.

"Double Strike" called out Yasyamon attacking a nearby Gorillamon and knocking him into a tree. As the Gorillamon faded, the impact he made on the tree revealed a rather large, black colored crystal embedded into the tree.

"What's that?" asked Diego running up to the odd gem along with Albert, Kayla, and Jennifer.

"Gorillamon, stop them!" ordered Corvus, sounding panicked. The Gorillamon charged for the Digidestined only to be stopped by Bullmon's horns.

"Looks like this is important to them" said Diego trying to pull the gem from the tree. The gem was shaped like a dome and was about the size of a basketball. Waves of dark energy seemed to swirl inside the gem, surrounding an old symbol pulsing in the middle of the jewel.

"Let me see" said Jennifer placing her hand on the gem. When Jennifer put her hands on the gem, the symbol in the middle began to pulse rapidly and the surface began to crack. Jennifer quickly took her hands off the gem which stopped the sudden destruction to the jewel.

"No, they can't… Gorillamon, blast them out of here!" commanded Corvus.

"Put your hand back on there Jennifer, some how you're making Corvus really nervous" said Trey. Jennifer did as she was told and put her hand on the corrupt crystal and restarted the crystal's destruction.

"This might help" said Albert and he joined Jennifer and placed his hand on the crystal. Kayla observed the two and did the same. The rate in which the gem shattered began to speed up. One last large crack appeared on the gem causing it to shatter and dissolve into the air.

"They broke the Shadow Crystal? Crux is gonna kill me for this" sighed Corvus as he vanished in a swirl of dark smoke.

"Shadow Crystal?" questioned Ricky.

"Guys look" said Javi suddenly pointing to the Gorillamon. Some of the Gorillamon began to melt into puddles of black sludge while the others just had drops of the black slime drip off of them, leaving the controlled Digimon standing there very confused.

"Ok… that's weird" said Diego.

"That's not all, look at the sky" added Ashley. The team looked up to see the above clouds parting and revealing a beautiful evening sky.

"Guys, I think we know how to stop the D-Reapers" grinned Trey.


	23. Ch 23 The Search Begins

_**Ch. 23 The Search Begins**_

"So, the children have learned about the Shadow Crystals. They must now be planning on method to stop us" thought Crux. The leader of the Digital Reapers stood alone in the reapers meeting ground, pondering the events from the past few days.

"_I told you not to under estimate them"_

"The thought of mere teenagers and their Digimon partners being such an enormous issue didn't seem likely." spoke out Crux to his dark surroundings.

"_Do not take them lightly for even a second. They might look young but, they are strong and can be quite resourceful"_

"So what do you suggest I do?" questioned the shadowy leader.

"_Continue using the boy for your work. Cover the Digital World in darkness and add Digimon to our side. If you were to find two others to bear the abilities I gave you, you may find your efforts to be expedited. Also, be wary of the ones who lead by light"_

"Fine, I'll work on finding two humans to be inducted into the group. The other reapers have managed to plunge most of the Digital World into the shadows; two more should be able to speed our efforts up. This work better be worth it in then end" said Crux.

"Everything is ready for the trip back to the human world Crux" spoke out Lyra suddenly appearing behind Crux. "Might I ask who you are talking to?"

"It's nothing, let us be on our way" said Crux, quickly vanishing in a swirl of dark smoke. Lyra simply nodded and vanished alongside her fellow reaper.

The next afternoon at the Digidestine's home base was an exciting one. All The Digidestined and their partners gathered around the living room, discussing their recent finds.

"So, just like that the Gorillamon backed off along with a few melting into those black puddles of slime?" asked Cody.

"Yeah, once I put my hand on the… Shadow Crystal is what I think Corvus called it, the crystal started to destroy itself taking the influence of the D-Reapers out of that area" replied Jennifer.

"When Albert and Kayla placed their hands on that weird rock, it began to crack even faster." added Lunamon.

"This is great, we have a way to start fighting back." cheered Agumon.

"One problem though, how are we gonna find and destroy all the crystals the D-Reapers have scattered all around the digital world? We've never even seen them pop up on our D-Dexes." pointed out Winona.

"Might not be too big a problem, we got two people who can sniff out anything evil" said TJ with a laugh.

"Nice to see you think of me and Albert as dogs TJ" glared Kayla.

"I think it's a compliment" laughed Gaomon.

"Actually make that three people. Jennifer has been developing the same abilities me and Kayla have" spoke out Albert.

"Wait… what do you mean by they can sniff out evil?" questioned Ricky.

"Albert, Kayla, and now Jennifer have the ability to sense out darkness. They can feel an evil presence a lot faster than any of us normal Digidestined can along with keeping that darkness at bay." explained Brandi.

"That's awesome, you gotta show the rest of us how to do it." said Trey with a tone of excitement.

"Unfortunately that ability came with our crests so we can't just teach it. Trust me when I say this though, it can be more trouble than it's worth." said Albert.

"It's something to work with though" smiled Lopmon.

"So what should we do today in the Digital World?" asked Michelle.

"I say we all split into groups and do some exploring in the Digital World today. We really need to start looking from those Sacred Springs." answered Cody.

"It might be a good idea to find and see if those stones only shatter when Albert, Kayla, or Jennifer touch the surface of the crystal or will break down if any of us touch them." thought out Andrew "Plus I have a little experiment I'd like to try with the corrupt Digimon"

"Wizardmon may have some new information, speaking with him may be wise" said Renamon.

"So let's plan this out, one team can go talk to Wizardmon to see if he knows anything new, another team can try the experiments Andrew wants to do, and another team can just explore a new region and see what they come up with." figured Trey.

"Sounds like a plan to me" spoke Dracomon.

"Let's split up and move out then" said Cody. It wasn't long before the Digidestined had split into their groups and were on their way into the Digital World.

Way up in the Digital Worlds sky, Albert, Gaomon, Kayla, Lopmon, Michelle, Gabumon, Ashley, and Lalamon had appeared on the outer walkway of the Palace of the Ancients. Ashley looked over the edge of the pathway and frowned at the dark grey clouds covering the world down below.

"It's so sad, this could have been a really pretty sight if the D-Reapers hadn't ruined it with those clouds" said Ashley with sigh.

"We'll change our world back real soon and it'll be even prettier than before" said Lalamon with the sound of hope in her voice. The group made their way into the inner sanctum of the ancient palace and found Wizardmon along with Sorcerymon reading over several sets of books and scrolls. The old texts seemed to be much older than the Digidestined team could imagine. Wizardmon looked up from his book and noticed the group had entered the room.

"Welcome Digidestined, have you come to see if we have learned of anything new about the Sacred Springs?" questioned Wizardmon.

"Yep, any new info would be nice" smiled Michelle.

"The writing around the murals you all had found earlier is very old and is requiring much work to translate. Nothing significant can be reported there. As for the locations of the spring we have not found anything new, but we do believe we have know of someone who might know where one spring is located" informed Sorcerymon.

"That's a start, anything that can help point us in the right direction would be helpful" said Gabumon.

"Then I suggest looking for a Digimon named ElDradimon." spoke out Witchmon flying into the room on her broom then landing before the Digidestined team "He's not the smartest Digimon around but the old city on his back is said to have an old temple depicting a sacred place for great Digimon warriors to go prove they are worthy of fighting alongside the Digimon sovereigns."

"That's great, know where we can find ElDradimon?" asked Albert.

"There is a place called Delta Jungle where ElDradimon likes to stay. That would be a good place to try looking for him. If you can find a massive red colored stone wall, you're not too far off from finding that city and its temple." answered Witchmon.

"Isn't that where Cody and his team went?" spoke Gaomon.

"Yep, already sending him a message on what to look for. I'll let him know we'll meet up with his team and help them look for and check out the city" replied Kayla rapidly typing on her D-Dex.

"Thanks for the help guys, we'll be sending the reapers running away in no time" said Lopmon.

Cody wiped the sweat from his brow as he, Agumon, TJ, Veemon, Trey and Dracomon made their way through the Delta Jungle. The humid temperatures, tall trees, thick greenery, and muddy ground made moving through this area a bit rough.

"I hope Diego and Ann are having better luck finding something helpful in this jungle than we are." said TJ.

"I just hope there is something useful to find here" added Veemon.

"This how things went for you guys back in the day?" asked Trey.

"Pretty much, we just had evil Digimon to fight other than evil humans." answered Cody. "Did have to work on protecting the others to, especially when it came to Albert and Kayla. Me and TJ spent time making sure those two were always safe"

"How come?" questioned Dracomon.

"Their ability to sense darkness and hold it back makes them targets to a lot of the evil Digimon we fought. The light that is linked to them can be really powerful." explained Agumon. "These two made a promise to protect them"

"Sounds understandable, guess I'll work on keeping Jennifer safe then along with Albert and Kayla. If the three of them can be that big of a threat to the D-Reapers one day, they'll need us to guard them." figured Trey.

"Spoken like a true Digidestined leader" smiled Cody.

"Hey guys!" yelled out Hawkmon. Cody and his small grouped turned to see Hawkmon flying toward them along with Diego, Coronamon, and Ann running behind her.

"Guess what we found?" said Coronamon grinning.

"It looks like we can find something good there" added Diego.

"What did you all find?" asked Agumon.

"You'll see in a second, it's over this way" answered Ann. She then began to take off down one of the muddy pathways. The rest of the Digidestined team quickly followed behind her until they reached a massive clearing along the edge of a cliff. From the border of the cliff, the group could see a colossal red stone wall encircling an ancient looking city that seemed to be made from the same colored stones as the wall.

"Think we may have found something guys" said Trey gazing upon the city and its walls.


	24. Ch 24 The Moving City

_**Ch. 24 The Moving City**_

"That looks like a good place to start searching for the Sacred Springs" said Diego observing the structures in the distance. Cody heard a beeping noise from his D-Dex and pulled it out to see what was causing the sound. After looking over the device's screen for a minute, he placed his D-Dex back into his pocket.

"Just got a message from Kayla, she says Wizardmon suggests we look for a red stone wall and city in this jungle then go explore it. She mentioned that if we find a Digimon named ElDradimon, we might learn something about one of the spring's locations. We might find him in a temple somewhere here. Oh, and her group will join up with us soon to help look for the city and search it"

"Lucky us, we already found it" smiled Agumon

"You sure we should check that place out? Who knows what's hiding out in there" said Ann, sounding worried.

"We won't know what's there till we go see" spoke Hawkmon.

"Worst case scenario, if things do go bad in there, we just hold out till Kayla and the others can back us up." figured TJ.

"Alright, let's get moving" said Veemon.

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to… Flamedramon_

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

_Hawkmon Drive Digivolved to… Halsemon_

Flamedramon and Yasyamon quickly scooped up their human partners and carried them through the remaining part of the jungle. Once they reached the stone red walls, the pair was easily able to leap over the structure and drop their partners off safely on the other side. Halsemon managed to carry Ann, Cody, Diego, and Coronamon over the walls and meet up with Trey, TJ, and their partners.

"We'll stay like this in case any Digimon want to try and play with us" spoke Flamedramon. The group made their way through the thick forest in route to the stone city in the center of the jungle. After a few minutes hiking through the dense forest, the group reached the stone metropolis and was now walking along its carved pathways. The buildings around them ranged in varying heights and seemed to be made out of adobe.

"Looks like this place was modeled after the Aztec temples in our world" said Ann after checking out a few of the etchings along the buildings walls.

"Think that's the temple we're supposed to be looking for?" asked Coronamon pointing to a tall structure in the distance. The temple towered over the rest of the city and seemed to be rounded in structure.

"It's a start" figured Diego.

"Well, well… look who came to visit" sneered a voice. The Digidestined team immediately looked to the rooftop of a nearby building and found Fornax standing atop it with his arms crossed.

"Fornax…" growled Cody "What are you doing here?"

"It's quite odd. I've found this city several times and have tried to claim it as my own. The walls surrounding this place along with this marvelous city would make the perfect fortress. Unfortunately, every time I try to take over the region this city is under, it moves to a new location." spoke Fornax.

"I guess even the Digital World doesn't want you claiming places that aren't yours" glared TJ.

"Doesn't have much of a choice really, it will be mine soon enough. Now, if you kids are here there must be something worthwhile here. I'll have a look around while you handle my air units" said Fornax. The Digital Reaper snapped his fingers summoning a group of Digimon around him. The Digimon had long, snake like bodies with wings near their head regions. The Digimon were white in color with red and yellow markings going around their bodies while green hair sprouting from their heads.

"Quetzalmon, ancient champion level Digimon that use an attack called Freezing Wave to stop their opponents." read Ann from her D-Dex.

"Eliminate them Quetzalmon!" ordered Fornax. The Digital Reaper then took off for the towering temple in the distance.

"We can't let him get away" said Cody.

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

"Freezing Wave" chanted the Quetzalmon. One quick swing from their tail sent a barrage of icicles flying toward the Digidestined.

"Tempest Wing!" cried Halsemon as she formed her massive cyclone. The wind from her attack was able to stop and redirect the ice attack toward the Quetzalmon.

"Matador Dash!" shouted Bullmon as he leapt into the air and smashed right into several of the Quetzalmon destroying them.

"Fire Rocket!" added Flamedramon to the barrage of attacks and taking down several enemy Digimon in the process.

"Cody, you and Trey make a break for that temple. We'll hold these guys off" said TJ.

"Got it, let's go Trey" said Cody taking off running toward the center of the city with Allomon.

"Right behind you," said Trey running after Cody with Yasyamon. A few of the Quetzalmon noticed the duo running off and began to give chase. One of the corrupt Digimon took aim at Trey then launched its attack toward him.

"Talon Arrow!" cried Bucchiemon. The pink arrow managed to stop the attack while taking out the attacking Quetzalmon.

"Hey guys, thought you could use some back up" smiled Kayla now running alongside Cody and Trey.

"Thanks for the help" said Trey. Trio managed to reach the temple in the center of the city only to find Fornax about to enter the stone structure. Before either side could say anything, they all felt the entire city shake for a few seconds then stop. This pattern seemed to continue as if in a set rhythm.

"I'll let these guys handle you while I retreat. Once the city has been secured I'll have it searched then destroyed" growled Fornax as he vanished in a puff of black smoke. In his place appeared five Digimon wearing green robes with a red cloak tied to their backs. The Digimon's face appeared to be a blue and red colored, tribal looking mask with white and red hair coming out from behind the mask.

"Baromon, champion level tribal Digimon. They can use meteors from their Meteor Dance attack to fend off enemies." read Kayla from her D-Dex.

"Meteor Dance" spoke the Baromon in a monotonous voice. Several large rocks engulfed by flames appeared around the Baromon then were sent flying toward the Digidestined.

"Dino Burst" called out Allomon as he stopped the incoming fire balls with his attack.

"Double Strike!" shouted Yasyamon rushing toward one of the Baromon and destroying him with several quick swipes from his twin swords.

"That's one down," said Trey.

"Horn Blade!" exclaimed Moosemon as he suddenly appeared and plowed through the four other Baromon and tossing them into the air.

"Talon Arrow" finished Bucchiemon using her attack to send the enemy Digimon to their black, sludge like form.

"Wondered when you all would get here" said Albert rejoining with the group. "We better go check out that temple before any more of them come"

"Right, let's go" said Cody leading the team. The group made their way into the temple only to find a spiral, stone stairway following the interior walls of the temple all the way to its rooftop. The windows along the structure's walls and the various torches scattered about were enough to keep the room lit. Allomon and Moosemon stayed at the base of the staircase to watch for enemy Digimon while the rest of the group climbed the stone stairway. The sporadic rumbling of the land would cause the team to halt for a second or two but within a few minutes the team made it to the temple's roof top.

"Wow, you can see pretty far from up here" observed Trey. Albert took notice of a stone mural on one side of the rooftop and went over to examine it. The mural showed the image of a coliseum surrounded by mountains with a set of strange writing below the images. Albert took a few pictures with his D-Dex then returned to the group.

"Got pictures of that mural?" asked Cody.

"Yep, I got a few pictures that should be helpful. Other than that mural, there doesn't look like there's anything else important up here" answered Albert.

"Good, Bucchiemon, use your attack and destroy that mural. As much as I hate to destroy it, we can't let the D-Reapers find it and get to that place before us." instructed Cody.

"Alright, if you think that's best. Talon Arrow" cried Bucchiemon using one arrow to shatter the stone depicting into a pile of rubble..

"We better go see how the others are doing" said Yasyamon.

"That and get out of here. All this shaking can't be good for this place." added Trey.

"Thunder Blast!" called out Raidramon taking out several Quetzalmon with his blue colored, lightning attack.

"Scales of the Shining Bolt!" followed up Butterflymon with her own electrical attack.

"Think that about eliminates the Quetzalmon" said TJ scanning the area for enemy Digimon.

"All this rumbling didn't make fighting here any easier." spoke out Bullmon.

"Hey guys!" called out Cody as he and his group rejoined with TJ and his group.

"Hey, find anything interesting?" asked TJ.

"Yep, got some pictures to show y'all" replied Albert.

"Then let's get out of here before all this rumbling takes down the city." said Diego.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. The rumbling is just ElDradimon." smiled Ashley.

"Don't think we ran into that Digimon" frowned Ann.

"That's because you're on his back. Come on, we'll show you" added Michelle.

The teams made their way away from the city and back onto the cliff where Cody and his group saw the great stone wall and the city it was guarding. Once the Digidestine's Digimon reverted back to their rookie forms, they could see what Michelle had meant. The entire city and its forest were being carried on the back of a gargantuan turtle of sorts. Its underbelly, ankles, and tail seemed to be covered in the same stones that made up the walls. The massive Digimon had a green body exposed in-between some of the red bricks and wore a golden helmet with red markings on its surface. ElDradimon made its way over to Digidestined and raised its head so he could see the team.

"Easy there big guy" laughed Trey as he pulled out his D-Dex to scan the Digimon "ElDradimon, a mega level Digimon that can crush anything with his Giant Nipper attack"

"Hi ElDradimon, hope the fighting didn't bother you too much" smiled Kayla.

"Its… ok…" spoke ElDradimon slowly with a smile.

"You knew we were on him?" asked Cody turning to Albert.

"Yep, Witchmon showed us an image of him before Wizardmon warped us here. We were actually able to meet ElDradimon before climbing onto his back. We even told him that he should move to a safer location since a D-Reaper was here." explained Albert.

"That explains the constant rumbling while we fought," figured Veemon.

"Thanks for letting us visit your city ElDradimon" said Michelle sweetly.

ElDradimon gave a slight nod "Anything… to help… friends… go find… big arena… in the tall… mountains… very sacred… grounds there… great one…calls place… home…"

"Thanks buddy, we'll check it out. Stay safe out there" called out Dracomon. The team waved goodbye to ElDradimon as the giant Digimon headed off into the sunset.


	25. Ch 25 A Scientific Approach

_**Ch. 25 A Scientific Approach**_

A massive, factory like setting greeted the second Digidestined team which was composed of Ricky, Falcomon, Jennifer, Lunamon, Brandi, Salamon, Winona, Renamon, Javi, Monodramon, Andrew, and Guilmon. Hundreds of conveyer belts carried piles of various metals though out the building. The machinery that was lined along the conveyer belts would pick out several of the random metals and sort them to new lines to be carried to other parts of the factory.

"So what was this place called again?" asked Ricky.

"The Metallic Mill," answered Falcomon.

"Looks like this place sorts out and processed different types of metals from the digital world" observed Winona.

"Curious though, this place had been abandoned for a long time" spoke Renamon.

"Yeah, no one's been here in ages" added Monodramon.

"So how do you want to start your experiments Andrew?" questioned Javi

"Well we know this place has already been taken over since the clouds outside are dark. I think letting Jennifer look for the Shadow Crystal could be a good start. We can't try anything else until a D-Reaper shows up or until Jennifer finds the crystal." replied Andrew.

"I'll try to see if I can feel anything out but I'm still new at this," frowned Jennifer.

"Just try your best" spoke Lunamon.

"And if you can't find anything don't worry about it. We'll just come up with a new plan" added Brandi.

"All we ask is that you try" finished Salamon with a smile.

"We should split up, we might be able to do more that way" suggested Guilmon.

"Alright, how about me and Winona take Jennifer around and see if she can sense out the Shadow Crystal?" asked Brandi.

"That sounds good, me, Javi, and Ricky can try to draw out a D-Reaper along with trying out a few other ideas I have" said Andrew "Oh yeah, let us know the second you find and destroy the Shadow Crystal. Got another theory I want to test."

After agreeing on the plan and what needed to be done, the two trios of Digidestined, along with their partners, split off into the mill. Jennifer's group wandered the factory for a few minutes until they discovered a steel stair case leading up the factory's catwalk system over looking all the conveyer belts.

"We should be able to see a lot more of the factory from up there" figured Brandi.

"Let's check it out then" said Winona walking up the stairway and onto the upper level of the mill. The group followed her up the stairs and onto the catwalk. The higher view from the walk way showed all the metals being transported deeper into the mill toward a glowing flame in the distance.

"I wonder what the metals are being melted into?" questioned Salamon.

"Can't be anything good if the D-Reapers are using it" replied Lunamon.

"It might be wise to shut this place down if the Digital Reapers are using it for their own needs" added Renamon.

"Something feels off here…" spoke out Jennifer as she observed the factory. She noticed one pathway and began to walk along it, the other members of the team following close behind.

"Can you feel something evil here?" asked Lunamon as she walked beside Jennifer.

"Sorta, there's like this empty presence up here. Not the warm feeling I learned to feel out from Albert and Kayla." answered Jennifer. Jennifer kept on walking through the various pathways until she lead the team to a metal pillar heading up into the rafters of the building. After observing the pillar for a few moments, Jennifer spotted the Shadow Crystal, embedded into the side of the pillar.

"You found it!" cheered Lunamon.

"You might want to work on destroying it soon" said Salamon nervously.

"Why?" asked Brandie

"We have company coming" growled Renamon taking a battle stance.

"Figures, the one time we want to find a reaper. They don't want to show up" sighed Javi. Javi's group of Digidestined wandered the Metallic Mill's lower floor hoping to draw out one of the Digital Reapers. After reaching a colossal furnace in what appeared to be the center of the mill, the group decided to come up with a new plan.

"I wonder what happens to all the metals that go into that furnace?" wondered Ricky aloud as he took notice of all the conveyer belts dumping their cargo into the flames in the center of the furnace.

"I think the Digital Reapers might be taking the molten materials but for what purpose remains to be the question here" observed Falcomon.

"That would be our little secret." laughed Corvus suddenly. The group turned to see Corvus standing atop one of the rafters above them. "I can promise you one thing, it's something big"

"How about you just tell us what you're doing here now?" glared Guilmon.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Now, if you would be so kind as to vacate my factory along with your other friends. I have a lot of work to get done here" ordered Corvus.

"I don't think you have the right to own this place" counted Javi.

"No place in the Digital World should be under your control" added Andrew.

"Fine, I'll have security take care of you" sighed Corvus. The Digital Reaper clapped his hands causing several Digimon to appear around him. Half of the possessed Digimon appeared to be rather bulky, robot like creatures with a light brown color and a bronze trim along their bodies. The other half of the evil Digimon had a robot like appearance with long arms. The Digimon's body had a silver color to it with a red, glass orb on its chest and a blue dome on its head.

"Guardromon, escort these Digidestined out of the mill. Mekanorimon, do the same with the children exploring the rafters." commanded Corvus. The silver colored Digimon obeyed and flew off into the upper levels of the mill while the bronze colored Digimon began to surround Javi and his group.

"Looks like we got a fight on our hands fellas" said Monodramon coolly.

_Monodramon Drive Digivolved to… Pteramon_

_Guilmon Drive Digivolved to… Stegomon_

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

"I remember these guys from one of our first trips to the Digital World. Guardromon are at the champion level and their attack is called Guardian Barrage if I remember right" thought out Javi.

"Yep, that about covered them" said Ricky double checking the info on his D-Dex.

"That means they'll go down just as easily as last time, Missile Storm" cried Pteramon launching his barrage of missiles toward the surrounding Digimon. Several of the corrupt Digimon were easily disposed of with Pteramon's attack, sending them to their black goo form.

"Guardian Barrage" counted several of the Guardromon, revealing a set of turrets on their arms. A barrage of bullets soon began to rain upon the Digimon team.

"Double Stars" shouted Shurimon using his giant ninja stars to cut through the enemy Digimon, stopping their attacks.

"Shell Needle Rain" followed up Stegomon taking out a few more Guardromon. Once several of the Guardromon crashed into the ground, they began to melt into the usual black puddles of slime. Andrew quickly took out a small, glass vial from his pocket and scooped up a sample of the sludge like substance.

"We can work with this" said Andrew to himself. He heard a beeping sound amid the fighting and pulled out his D-Dex. Andrew smiled as he read over the message he had just received on his D-Dex. "Got something I want you to try out Javi!"

"Mekanorimon, champion level machine Digimon that can perform an attack called Twin Beam" read Winona from her D-Dex. The incoming Digimon began to swarm around the group before launching a barrage of red colored lasers toward the Digidestined and their partners. The group managed to duck just in time to avoid the attack.

"Now it's our turn" said Renamon.

_Renamon Drive Digivolved to… Kabukimon_

_Salamon Drive Digivolved to… Nefertimon_

_Lunamon Drive Digivolved to… Rinkmon_

"Iris Beam!" cried Nefertimon using her attack to blast several of the Mekanorimon out of the air and down onto the floor below. "We'll handle them, you three try out Andrew's experiment"

"Alright, let's see what happens when I put my hands on that stone" said Brandi. Laid her hand on top of the stone's surface and left it there for a few seconds. To the group's dismay, the stone remained unaffected.

"Ok, we know Jennifer can break it on her own, let's see if it can stand up to a Digimon's attack" said Winona.

"Must… protect… stone… Twin Beam" called out the Mekanorimon together, firing their attack.

"Cherry Blossom Storm" chanted Kabukimon swiftly dodging the attack then slicing through a large number of the enemy Digimon.

"Spinning Cutter" added Rinkmon gracefully leaping from walkway to walkway, taking out the remaining Mekanorimon. She then took one last leap toward the Shadow Crystal and sliced through it with her powerful attack. The crystal immediately burst into tiny shards then vanished.

"That did it" smiled Jennifer.

"It appears a few of the surviving Mekanorimon are free from the dark presence" observed Kabukimon looking to the ground floor and seeing several of the Mekanorimon surveying the area in confusion.

"I'll let Andrew know we destroyed the stone and that it can be broken by our Digimon's attacks" said Brandi as she pulled out her D-Dex.

"What do you want me to try?" asked Javi running up to Andrew.

"Have Pteramon De-Digivolved then Digivolve normally," replied Andrew.

"But what about the…" began Javi.

"Trust me, I think it'll work. Just do it fast" said Andrew quickly.

"Alright, Pteramon, switch back to Monodramon and try for the champion level" called out Javi.

"Ok, I'll try" said Pteramon returning to his Monodramon form. "Hope this works"

_Monodramon Digivolved to… Strikedramon_

"It feels so good to be back" exclaimed Strikedramon with excitement. Strikedramon appeared to be a taller, thinner form of Monodramon with green pants and various pieces of metal covering a variety of his body. Red markings covered his now white colored chest and he now had orange hair sticking out from his metal helmet.

"To bad, there's nothing left to fight" frowned Shurimon watching several of the Guardromon fade away into the dark puddles while the remaining robotic Digimon just looked around confused.

"So that's what normal Digivolution looks like" admired Ricky.

"You might have taken out my guards but I still control this factory" barked Corvus.

"Not for long, Strike Fang" cried Strikedramon leaping into the air. The metal plates on his body began to glow in a bright red color then burst into a stream of flames. Strikedramon rammed into the furnace from various spots, taking out the massive oven in a matter of seconds. Strikedramon then returned to his partner and let out a smile. "You were saying?"

"Why do I have to report all that bad news to Crux?" groaned Corvus as he observed the rubble of the once great furnace. Corvus then clapped his hands together and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

"Let's regroup with the others guys and head home. I think Cody's and Albert's teams would love to hear about this" smiled Andrew.


	26. Ch 26 A Warrior's Home

_**Ch. 26 A Warrior's Home**_

"Looks like the trips to the Digital World today paid off" smiled Cody. All the Digidestined had just returned from their journey to the Digital World and were sitting in their base's living room recapping all the details from each trip. They all couldn't help but smile after learning how to free areas of the Digital World from the control of the Digital Reaper plus learn about a possible location of one of the Sacred Springs.

"I can't believe we found a way to Digivolve back to the champion level" smiled Monodramon

"Bet the D-Reapers never saw that one coming" laughed Javi.

"Not to kill the mood or anything but how are we going to find this place" spoke out Winona looking over the recently taken photos from ElDradimon's city.

"We sent the photos to Wizardmon to see if he knew anything about a place like that or what ElDradimon mentioned. We'll just have to see what he knows or can dig up" replied Ann.

"Speaking of…" began Ricky typing away at his laptop "Wizardmon just sent us a message"

"What does it say?" asked Falcomon.

"There's a place that might match what we learned from ElDradimon far in the western hemisphere of the Digital World. It's called Terra Coliseum and is surrounded by mountains. The coliseum was believed to be an arena where Digimon who wished to show off their strength could do so before the Digimon Sovereigns. It's a little rough to get to because of the terrain but it's as good a place to investigate. Wizardmon also included the coordinates to that place so we can investigate that area when we're ready" read Ricky from the computer screen.

"Alright, tomorrow we'll go check out that coliseum." said TJ.

"And if we're lucky we'll find a spring hidden there" added Veemon.

"Let's all get some rest then, we have a spring to find in the morning" said Agumon. The group all agreed with the plan and left for home to rest up for the next day.

"So what should we do know Crux?" asked Fornax as he, Corvus, and Crux stood together talking.

"Our refinery is shut down for the time being and whatever the brats were looking for in that city was destroyed" continued Corvus.

"We let the Digidestined make the next move and see what their after. Once we know what they're up to, we will prepare a counter strategy" figured Crux.

"Our preparations are complete, we may return home Crux" said Lyra appearing next to Fornax.

"Orion is waiting for us" added Ara wearing a wicked smile as she appeared next to Corvus.

"Then let us be off" spoke Crux and with that, the reapers vanished in a swirl of black smoke.

Early Saturday morning the Digidestined had all gathered at their home base by the lake and were planning out their trip to the Digital World. Andrew was busy setting up his laptop for the trip to the Digital World with the new coordinates that Wizardmon had sent.

"So who's going to go to the coliseum?" asked Agumon.

"If it's a place for fighters then we're going" said TJ.

"We'll be needed there for sure" added Veemon.

"Me and Agumon are going to" said Cody.

"You can count us in to" spoke out Trey with Dracomon by his side.

"Us to" said Coronamon with Diego

"Albert, Kayla, and Jennifer should go. If the Digital Reaper have something out there then they'll be able to sense it" figured Gaomon.

"Sounds good, anybody else joining on this trip?" asked Kayla.

"Sorcerymon sent us some notes on the murals we found along with the translations him, Witchmon, and Wizardmon made up to now. Me, Ricky, Ann, and Brandi are going to stay here in the cabin and see what we can help figure out." said Winona.

"There has to be something important in there if Wizardmon wants us to look over it" spoke Hawkmon.

"We will be close by also in case you need backup" added Renamon

"I'm gonna go to the school to run a few tests on the sample I collected yesterday from the Digimon we defeated. Javi, Michelle, and Ashley are going to help me out to" continued Andrew.

"We'll keep you guys posted is we find anything good in the lab" said Lalamon.

"Thanks, let us know what you find" said Lopmon.

"Anything helps" smiled Lunamon.

"Let's get going already" said Dracomon anxiously. Andrew just smiled as he finished preparing his laptop then turned the screen toward the traveling team who then readied their Digivices.

"We'll be back soon, Digiport Open!" yelled Cody opening the gate and warping himself and the other Digidestined into the Digital World. The group appeared along a dirt pathway at the base of a towering mountain range. The clouds overhead seemed to cover the highest peaks of each mountain.

"If we follow this path, we'll reach Terra Coliseum in no time" said TJ looking over the map on his D-Dex.

"Alright, let's see where this path takes us" said Agumon leading the way. The group followed behind Agumon along the dirt path. The trail seemed to wind around the mountain for some time. After a few miles of hiking along the path, the group reached a cave cutting through the mountain.

"We continue through there?" asked Gaomon.

"Looks like it, the path doesn't go through there for too long. The exit should put us right in front of the arena." said Albert double checking his D-Dex. The team entered the cave and continued to follow the pathway which soon turned from dirt to stone. The group was surprised to find the interior of the cave decorated with torches along the wall illuminating the images of various Digimon engravings along the surface of the walls.

"Hey, there's a picture of a Greymon and WarGreymon" pointed out Agumon to one of the wall's etchings.

"There's UlforceVeedramon there" added Veemon pointing to another image.

"Isn't that a Leomon?" asked Coronamon pointing to one image.

"Yep, looks like it" answered Diego.

"I wonder who carved all these Digimon out" wondered Jennifer.

"Maybe it was a sovereign" thought out Lunamon.

"I think we reached the end of the cave guys" said Kayla as the Digidestined team reached the exit. The next site left the Digidestined spellbound. A massive structure stood before the team, appearing to have been made from solid gold, sitting atop a plateau above the surrounding mountain peaks. The coliseum contained multiple levels, had a roman look to the structure with varying archways and pillars on the outer design, and was circular in shape. A white marble staircases lead the team to the entrance of the arena.

"This place is huge" said Lopmon as the team reached the doorway to the coliseum. The doorway was about two stories tall with the crest symbols for Valor, Trust, and Bravery engraved on its surface in their respective colors.

"Finally, the Digidestined have come!" exclaimed a male, elderly voice. The team scanned the area for the origin of the mysterious voice.

"I'm up here children" guided the unknown voice. The group turned their attention to one of the archways on the upper levels of the coliseum to see goat like Digimon with black fur standing under an arch. The Digimon had long gold colored horns reaching toward its back, wore a silver ring with various markings and a small bell around its neck, and a silver plate with a red gem on its forehead. The Digimon leapt down a few levels then took a spot before the Digidestined.

"Oryxmon," read Albert from his D-Dex "A very wise, champion level Digimon that has two attacks called Mystic Bell and Milky Erode"

"Thank you for the introduction sonny; I am Oryxmon, a guide and messenger of the great Digimon sovereigns. I have been tasked with guiding each Sovereign chosen Digidestined through their trials and to each of the Sacred Springs"

"Guide?" said Cody confused.

"Well, I loosely use the term. I am to help the chosen Digidestined begin each trial, once the trial has begun, the Digidestined selected must complete the test using their own abilities. Once the trial has begun, no one is allowed to exit the test until it has been completed. This is Terra Coliseum, home to the sovereign Baihumon and is host to the Trial of Earth." informed Oryxmon.

"So how many of us can do the trial?" asked Agumon.

"Isn't it obvious? Only the three Digidestined selected by Baihumon may enter. The bearers of the Crests of Valor, Trust, and Bravery are the only Digidestined who can enter these sacred grounds. If you are ready, I will guide the three Digidestined chosen by Baihumon into the coliseum." spoke Oryxmon.

"Guess that would be us three" said Trey stepping forward with Dracomon, TJ, Veemon, Cody, and Agumon.

"I think we're ready to begin" added Dracomon.

"I guess we'll wait for you guy out here then" shrugged Diego.

"If the D-Reapers show up, we'll make sure they don't try to stop you guys" added Coronamon.

"Good luck" smiled Jennifer.

"Don't do anything stupid in there" laughed Albert.

"And please come out safe" said Kayla with a bit of worry in her tone.

"We'll be fine sis, look who you're talking to" grinned Cody.

"I think that's why she's worried" giggled Lopmon. Oryxmon rang the bell around his neck, giving off a soft chiming sound. The three crest symbols on the arena's door began to glow causing the entrance to slowly open.

"If you would please follow me" said Oryxmon entering the coliseum. Cody, TJ, and Trey gave each other a quick nod then followed behind Oryxmon along with their partners. The interior of the coliseum seemed to be made from tan colored stones, pillars followed along the walls. Sunlight poured in from the arches along the upper sections of the walls. The trio was so focused that they didn't notice the entranceway close behind them as they followed Oryxmon. Oryxmon lead the group to a circular room with three doorways, above each entrance was one of the selected Digidestine's crest symbols. Oryxmon then turned and faced the three selected Digidestined.

"This is where the Trial of Earth begins. This trial is fairly simple actually; the three of you, along with your Digimon partner will enter your designated doorway. Once you pass through the entryway, the path back to this room will vanish and you will not be able to exit the way you entered. You are to follow the path before you and seek out a fragment of Baihumon's emblem. Once you find your emblem fragment, you will need to regroup with the remaining Digidestined and combined the three emblem fragments to reveal the Sacred Spring of Earth. Beware Digidestined, though there is no evil influence here, there will be other forces testing your true intentions. When you are ready, you may enter"

The Digidestined trio said nothing and walked to their doorways. They gave one last reassuring nod to each other then walked though their entryways. Once they passed through, the entrance to each pathway was soon replaced with a stone wall. Before any of the three Digidestined could begin, a mighty voice echoed through the halls of Terra Coliseum.

_Fear not Digidestined for your heart must be filled with Valor_

_Place your Trust in not only your abilities, but also in those of your allies_

_Only then will you pass my test and prove your Bravery to me_


	27. Ch 27 The Trial of Earth

_**Ch. 27 The Trial of Earth**_

Cody and Agumon walked through the corridors of Terra Coliseum in search of Baihumon's emblem fragment. Many of the hallways they passed through seemed to be repeating themselves. No matter how much they traversed through the coliseum, the hallways just seemed to lead the pair in circles

"Think we're getting closer to finding that fragment?" asked Agumon.

"No idea, seems like we've been walking in circles for hours" sighed Cody. The pair continued to make their way through the halls until they reached two splitting pathways. One path still lit from the outside light and a second path being lit by a single torch on the wall.

"Which one should we take?" asked Agumon.

"Let's try the dark pathway, something different at least?" figured Cody.

"Think its safe or a trap?" questioned Agumon.

"Who knows, guess we'll find out together" said Cody with a laugh as he took the torch off the wall and used it to light the hallway as the two walked through it.

"Yeah, nothing can stop the two of us" smiled Agumon. The light from the torch made it hard to see far down the pathway but the pair continued to make their way through the darkness. A few minutes of walking in the dark lead Cody and Agumon to a large room being faintly lit by a few candles along the wall. On the other side of the room was a white marble pedestal being illuminated by a small beam of light coming from the ceiling. Some object could be seen sparkling underneath the tiny beam of light.

"I think we found the fragment" spoke Cody.

"Let's grab it and find the others then" said Agumon. Before the pair could take another step, a low growl could be heard throughout the room. A shadowy figure could be seen moving from behind the pedestal. The creature let out a loud roar causing every flame in the room to be extinguished. Cody began to scan the room with his D-Dex hoping to figure out what the unknown being was.

"Great… it's too dark for the D-Dex to scan anything" grumbled Cody to himself. A set of heavy footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer to the duo. "Think it's time to Digivolve buddy"

"Right, leave whatever this is to me" said Agumon confidently.

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

"Dino Burst!" cried Allomon shooting his flames forward. The rapid stream of flames lit the room enough for Cody to scan the approaching Digimon. Cody could see the Digimon's true form from the D-Dex screen. The Digimon resembled a tyrannosaurus rex with a red and white body along with green scales running down its back.

"Tyrannomon, champion level dino Digimon. He's got an attack called Fire Blast that could incinerate anything" read Cody from his D-Dex. Tyrannomon opened its mouth and quickly retaliated with his own attack. The two attacks collided with each other and lit the room for a moment before returning the two Digimon back into darkness. Allomon felt a quick strike hit him along his jaw followed by another strike to his side.

"He's using the darkness to hide and attack" grumbled Allomon recovering from the attacks.

"Hang in there buddy," encouraged Cody. Allomon took a few strikes to his body and was then knocked against the wall.

"This is getting annoying" growled Allomon swinging is long tail back and forth in the dark, trying to land a hit on Tyrannomon.

"We gotta focus, he's just trying to rattle you and make you drop your guard. Try lighting the room again with your attack" instructed Cody.

"Right, Dino Burst!" shouted Allomon using his attack to light the room. Allomon got a quick glance at where Tyrannomon was hiding then focused his stream of flames toward the enemy Digimon. Tyrannomon launched his Fire Blast attack, intercepting Allomon's attack. The two streams of flames seemed to be evenly matched.

"You got this buddy, show him who the top dino is around here" called out Cody.

"He's strong, but I'm stronger!" exclaimed Allomon pushing every ounce of strength he had into his attack. Allomon's flames soon over took Tyrannomon's attack and destroyed the Digimon into tiny bits of data. With Tyrannomon destroyed, a new doorway began to open, allowing light to enter the room. Allomon reverted back to Agumon and rejoined with Cody.

"Nice work buddy" said Cody.

"Thanks, it was nothing" smiled Agumon. The two ran over to the pedestal and picked up the glittering object. The object was about the size of Cody's palm with two jagged edges and one circular edge. The image of some type of animal could be partly seen engraved on its surface.

"Got what we were looking for, let's go find TJ and Trey" said Cody looking into the light from the newly appeared doorway.

"Think Cody or Trey found their fragment piece yet?" asked Veemon.

"No idea, I don't even know if we're getting anywhere looking for ours" sighed TJ. The duo continued to make their way through the halls of the coliseum hoping to find the emblem fragment. The two passed through a few varying routes until they reached a wide room with a huge, long hole in the floor stretching for several yards, stopping the pairs advancement. A large gold doorway could be seen on the other side of the room.

"Whoa… that's one long way down" gulped Veemon looking down into the black void.

"No kidding, check out what's on the other side though" pointed out TJ to the other side of the room. At the other side of the area sat another white pedestal where the gold emblem fragment lay glittering from the sunlight pouring into the room. "Any ideas how to get across?"

"The gap is too far for me to jump as Flamedramon" sighed Veemon. The Digimon soon noticed a handle bar sticking out from one of the walls and ran over to it. "Maybe this does something"

TJ walked over to the handle and pulled it out from the wall. As TJ pulled the handle out from the wall, the pair found it to be attached to a chain that ran into the wall. TJ continued to pull the handle until the pair could hear a slight cranking sound. Veemon looked over to the pit and could see a stone walkway slowly stretch out from the opposing side of the room to their side.

"Check that out TJ, it's a way across" cried Veemon. TJ let go of the handle to see the walkway but the second he let go of the switch, the chain pulled the handle back into the wall then quickly pulled back the pathway into the other side of the room.

"Guess this switch pulls out and holds the walkway. Doesn't look like we can pull the switch out and tie it to something" said TJ as he scanned the room. "One of us will have to pull the trigger and hold it long enough for the other to run to the other side of the room"

"I'll pull the handle while you run across and grab the fragment. Once you get there you can see if there's some way to keep the bridge out so I can cross" reasoned out Veemon.

"Sounds good to me, don't let go of that switch ok?" said TJ.

"I'd never do that, you can trust me" smiled Veemon. Veemon went over to the handle and began to pull it out from the wall. The pathway across the large hole began to appear again. Once it reached the pair's side of the room, TJ began to make his way across it. Once TJ finished reaching the other side of the room, he waved to Veemon to let go of the handle.

"Anyway for me to get across?" yelled Veemon.

"Give me a sec to look around" replied TJ with a yell. TJ scanned his side of the room then noticed a similar trigger on his side. TJ began to pull the handle on his side to find there was more resistance in the chain, though he slowly managed to pull it out from the wall. He continued to pull the handle out from its resting place until the pathway reached Veemon. "Hurry buddy, this one is harder to hold onto that the other one"

"I'm on my way" said Veemon running down the newly appeared pathway. Veemon was stopped by a loud roar when he reached the middle section of the bridge. Veemon turned to see a large dinosaur like Digimon with a green body and two long black spikes with red bands growing out from his back charging toward Veemon.

"Oh great, it's a Tuskmon. If I remember right his attack is Slamming Tusk and he's a champion level Digimon" said TJ tightening his grip on the switch.

"Don't worry TJ, I got this guy" smiled Veemon.

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to… Flamedramon_

"Fire Rocket!" shouted Flamedramon throwing a few fireballs toward the incoming Digimon. The attack hit the Digimon and caused him to stumble back a bit. Tuskmon let out another loud roar then rammed his two large spikes into the bridge. The stone walkway began to shake and crumble from the impact of the attack.

"Come on Flamedramon, I can't hold this trigger for much longer" said TJ struggling to maintain a hold on the handle.

"I got an idea, when I say now, let go of the switch" instructed Flamedramon.

"You sure buddy?" struggled TJ.

"Yeah, don't worry." assured Flamedramon. Tuskmon began to rush toward Flamedramon again. Flamedramon then leapt into the air and rammed his fist right into Tuskmon's forehead.

"Now TJ, Fire Rocket!" cried Flamedramon using the impact from his attack to launch him to the other side of the room. Once TJ let go of the trigger, the path way was pulled out from Tuskmon causing the dinosaur Digimon to fall into the pit below. Flamedramon reverted back to Veemon as TJ went over to the pedestal and picked up the emblem fragment.

"Great work Veemon, never doubted you for a second there" said TJ.

"Thanks, I knew you wouldn't let me fall into the pit. Let's go find Cody and Trey now" smiled Veemon. The pair began to open the golden doorway and enter the light that poured in from the other side.

"Wonder is TJ and Cody got their pieces yet" wondered Dracomon aloud.

"Knowing the two older leaders of the Digidestined they probably have" said Trey "Hope we find ours soon"

"We will, I got a feeling its close by" assured Dracomon.

"How do you know?" asked Trey

"I don't, I just know we're gonna finish our part of the trial easy" said Dracomon confidently.

"Right" laughed Trey "If I'm gonna be a leader, guess I got to stay confident all the time"

The pair continued to walk through the hall's of Terra Coliseum until they reached a large circular room. The perimeter of the room was filled with various statues of Digimon and the floor seemed to be one large mosaic of the crests of Valor, Trust, and Bravery. A gold doorway could be seen at the other side of the room.

"Maybe that will lead us to something" pointed out Trey as the two began to head toward the door. Before the two could get any closer to the doorway, a tall ogre like Digimon with a red body slammed down into the ground before them then let out an ear piercing yell. The Digimon wore a tiger stripped loin cloth with matching arm bands and carried a club made from bone in his hand. The Digimon gave one quick swing from his club, barely missing the pair.

"That was to close, I'll handle him" growled Dracomon

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

"Double Strike!" shouted Yasyamon as he rushed toward the attacking Digimon.

"That's a Fugamon, a champion level Digimon that can use an attack called Evil Hurricane to knock away its enemies" read Trey from his D-Dex.

"Evil Hurricane" chanted the attacking Digimon. The ogre like Digimon began to swing his club wildly sending several strong gusts of wind to rush toward Yasyamon. Yasyamon knelt closer to the ground to avoid being blow back by the attack. Trey quickly grabbed onto one of the statues to avoid being thrown around the room by the strong gusts of wind. Yasyamon didn't notice Fugamon rush toward him and then strike him several times with his bone club. The last blow sent Yasyamon tumbling across the floor. Fugamon laughed a little then began to approach Yasyamon, ready to attack again.

"Get up Yasyamon, he's coming in for another attack!" yelled Trey.

"That last one really did some damage" groaned Yasyamon as he struggled to get up. Fugamon took his club and rammed it into Yasyamon again and sent the Digimon flying into one of the statues.

"Yasyamon!" cried Trey. Fugamon began to approach the fallen Digimon to deliver the final Blow. Trey looked at the statue he was next to and noticed a steel sword in the figures hand. He quickly pulled the blade from the statue's hand then charged for Fugamon. Trey managed to make one quick attack with the blade onto the enemy Digimon, causing Fugamon to let out a cry of pain. Fugamon turned his attention to Trey and delivered one quick blow with his club into Trey's arm. Trey was sent rolling along the floor from the attack.

"Trey!" called out Yasyamon. Yasyamon could feel his strength returning to his as his rage increased. Yasyamon quickly leapt to his feet the attacked Fugamon full force with his two wooden swords. Fugamon was stunned by the attacks then knocked into one of the statues.

"Don't you ever lay a hand on my partner! Double Strike!" exclaimed Yasyamon making a crossing his swords and releasing several blades of energy. The blades created from the attack slammed into Fugamon destroying the Digimon into nothing but bits of data. As Fugamon's data began to float off into the sky, a gold emblem fragment fell onto the ground where Fugamon was defeated. Yasyamon reverted back to Dracomon then ran over to help Trey off the ground.

"You ok buddy?" asked Dracomon sounding concerned.

"Yeah think so… ow…" cringed Trey gripping his arm. Dracomon helped Trey stand up then helped him walk for a bit to where the emblem fragment appeared. Trey slowly knelt down and picked up the emblem.

"We got it" smiled Trey, still clenching his arm.

"Yeah, don't scare me like that ever again." frowned Dracomon.

"Sorry, couldn't let him hurt you again" laughed Trey before he winced with pain.

"Don't ever try that again, promise you'll leave any attacking Digimon to me." spoke Dracomon.

"I promise" smiled Trey. Dracomon returned the smile then helped Trey exit the room through the golden doorway. The two soon felt the warm rays from the sun as they passed through the doorway and outside into the center of Terra Coliseum. They were now walking along a dirt pathway to a while marble arena. They could see rows and rows of seats surrounding the battle field. Trey and Dracomon walked up a set of stairs and onto the fighting platform.

"Hey Trey, you ok!" yelled a voice. Trey and Dracomon turned to their right to see Cody and Agumon running toward them, exiting from one of the doorways along the field's wall.

"Looks like your trial was rough" called out another voice. Trey and Dracomon turned their attention to their left to see TJ and Veemon running to them exiting from another doorway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hurts to move the arm to much but I'll live" said Trey wincing a little.

"Wow, you're officially a Digidestined leader now." laughed Cody.

"We've both taken a few attacks when we first started" added TJ.

"These guys have grown stronger from it though" continued Agumon.

"Yeah, it's all a part of growing as a leader" finished Veemon.

"Did y'all get your emblem fragments?" asked Dracomon.

"We got ours" said Cody holding out the fragment he and Agumon found.

"So did we" spoke TJ holding out the piece him and Veemon recovered.

"Great, we got ours also. Let's combined them already and finish the trial." said Trey holding his and Dracomon's fragment out. The trio put their fragment's together and noticed as they fused to form the completed emblem. The emblem bore the image of a white tiger letting out a roar on its surface. The group felt the ground shake then noticed the arena they were standing on began to sink into the earth. The team quickly made their way off the arena and onto the ground. A new structure began to rise up from the area where the arena floor began to sink. The structure was colored a solid white with a circular base and was composed of several rectangular pillars surrounding one taller pillar in the center. All the surrounding pillars had the same emblem except one pillar just had a circular shaped slot on its exterior.

"Place the emblem in that slot" instructed Oryxmon. The group was surprised to see the goat Digimon standing behind them. "Well, what are you all waiting for?"

"Alright, then" said Trey walking over to the empty slot. With some help from Dracomon, the two were able to insert the completed emblem into the opening perfectly. The pillars began to glow one by one in a soft yellow color. Suddenly, the symbols for the crests of Valor, Trust, and Bravery appeared in a triangular formation around the fountain like structure.

"Stand on your symbol then present your tag and crest to activate the fountain" said Oryxmon. The trio did as they were told and each took their places around the fountain with their partners by their sides. They each held up their tags and crests which then began to glow. Each crest shot off a beam of red, teal, and crimson colored lights respectively into the central pillar causing a stream of water to be released into the air, the surrounding pillars doing the same. The soft yellow light began to grow more and more before launching one long stream of light high into the sky. Before Cody, Agumon, TJ, Veemon, Trey, or Dracomon knew it, they were being engulfed by the bright stream of light.

"I'll see you three when you come back" echoed Oryxmon's voice.


	28. Ch 28 Countdown

_**Ch. 28 Countdown**_

Cody, Agumon, TJ, Veemon, Trey, and Dracomon slowly opened their eyes as the light from the spring subsided. The group soon found themselves standing on a large white platform in an unknown place. A beautiful, starry night sky could be seen above them and clouds seemed to surround them. The section of the platform they were standing on began to glow in a golden colored light and reveal their three crest symbols on its surface.

"Excellent Digidestined!" roared a loud and powerful voice "You have passed my Trial of Earth and restored light to the western lands of the Digital World"

"Who said that?" asked Dracomon searching the area.

"Sounds like the voice that spoke to us when we started the trial" replied Veemon.

"I didn't know y'all heard that to" said Agumon.

"Allow me to introduce myself then" said the voice. The clouds began to part as a huge figure leapt through them. The creature ran around the platform a few times then stopped before the trio of Digidestined and their partners. The figure resembled a white tiger with light purple colored bands running along its back to its tail and was enormous in size. A set of spiked bands were attached to the Digimon's hind legs and tail while a metal, purple colored mask covered the great Digimon's face. Another two metal, purple colored plates covered the Digimon's front legs. Twelve yellow colored orbs surrounded the torso of the mighty tiger like Digimon. "I am Baihumon, Digimon Sovereign of the West and creator of the crests of Valor, Trust, and Bravery."

"Whoa… you're huge…" said Trey spellbound.

"You're Fanglongmon size" said TJ.

"We didn't know all the sovereigns were this huge" spoke Cody.

"This is the first time you've met another sovereign other than our leader." laughed Baihumon. "I can see I have selected the proper humans to harness the power of my crests along with the best Digimon to match and aid their partners. I knew you would complete the Trial of Earth easily but I see one of you has received a slight an injury"

"It's nothing, I'm fine" winced Trey trying to force a laugh.

"You have done well to defend your partner, allow me to ease the pain a bit" spoke Baihumon. The yellow cores around the sovereign's waist began to glow for a bit then subsided. Trey soon found he could move his arm around a bit more though he still felt the pain surge through his arm. "I have repaired any internal damage Fugamon may have inflicted. Speak with the bearer or the Crest of Purity and he shall aid you further"

"Alright thank you, I'll see what Albert can do for me," said Trey

"Trust us, he'll fix you up in no time" spoke TJ.

"Yeah, he'll have you feeling better than ever" added Cody.

"Listen well Digidestined, the Digital Reapers have greatly shifted the balance in the Digital World. The darkness they have spread is destroying the Digital World slowly each day. They must be stopped at all costs." spoke Baihumon.

"Don't worry Baihumon, we're on it. We'll have the D-Reapers running from our world in no time" assured Agumon.

"Time, that is the issue my warriors. You know by now that both the human world and Digital World are connected. There will be a moment when both worlds will be linked and when this time occurs, the Digital Reapers will be ready to release their true evil into both worlds" informed Baihumon.

"What! What is their plan?" asked Veemon.

"That I do not know, their influence on our world has greatly weakened not only my powers but that of the other Digimon Sovereigns as well. With my Sacred Spring activated, all evil in my domain has been purged. I will continue to watch over my land and protect it from the Digital Reapers influence. You three must hurry and aid the remaining Digidestined and their partners in freeing the other regions of the Digital World from the Digital Reapers."

"Alright, we'll do everything we can to help them. Anything you can do to help us find the next Sacred Spring?" questioned Dracomon hopefully.

"I am afraid I do not know the exact locations of the remaining four springs but I can tell you one lies below a great ocean, another in a land high in the heavens, there is one deep in the molten fires of a soaring peak, and the final spring lies in the heart of our world. I have two gifts for you three before you return to the land below. First, a tool in fighting against the darkness the reapers have spread" spoke Baihumon. The orbs around Baihumon began to glow in a bright yellow light. Three of the cores left the ring around Baihumon then began to change in size and form. The three Digidestined held out their hands as the changing orbs began to fly toward them and enter their palms. The orbs finished reconfiguring themselves to form a silver colored ring; the front of each ring bore the crest symbol of the selected Digidestined engraved into the ring with a gem to match the crests color embedded in the center of each ring.

"Those rings are created from one of my Digicores, they can repel the dark influence created by the Digital Reapers and will allow you to have your partners Digivolve to the champion level uninhibited by the darkness the plagues our world. They can even allow you to Digivolve to the Ultimate level if need be. Now for my second gift" said Baihumon. Baihumon let out one thunderous roar causing an orb of yellow colored light to appear before him. The orb flew around Baihumon a few times then flew down to Cody. The sphere of light began to take form revealing a smooth, oval shaped gem. The gem was clear in color with a yellow light being softly emitted from the jewel's core.

"What is this for?" asked Cody.

"That object contains the pure essence of my power and the elemental force of earth. That gem will be needed to reveal the final spring's location along with stopping the darkness from spreading into either the Digital World or human world once united with its sister gems." informed Baihumon.

"Thank you Baihumon, we'll do our best to protect it" said TJ.

"We'll do everything we can to stop the D-Reapers from doing any more damage and stop them once and for all" added Trey.

"I know you all will; now it is time for you to return to our world. I wish you luck, and I will see you again one day" spoke Baihumon. The gem Baihumon had given the group began to glow, releasing a blinding yellow light. The group shielded their eyes as the gem began to glow brighter and brighter.

_Remember leaders of the Digidestined; protect those who guided by the purist light_

"They've been in there for awhile, think we should see if they need any help?" asked Kayla sounding worried.

"You heard Oryxmon" said Lopmon

"Only the Digimon and Digidestined selected by the sovereign of this region are allowed to enter and perform the trial" spoke Gaomon.

"I'm sure they're alright Kayla, nothing to worry about" assured Albert trying to get Kayla to relax.

"We did see that bright beam of light leave the coliseum a little while ago" spoke out Jennifer.

"Maybe it means they finished the trial already" suggested Lunamon.

"Hey guys, the doors are opening" said Diego suddenly pointing to the entrance to Terra Coliseum.

"Looks like someone is coming out" added Coronamon. The group turned their attention to the doors and noticed several figures exiting the coliseum. Kayla quickly ran over to her brother and hugged him once she realized he was exiting the great coliseum.

"You're safe" smiled Kayla.

"Of course I am, you should know by now nothing can get your big brother" grinned Cody.

"I know. I still can't help but worry about you though" frowned Kayla.

"Albert, we need you to help out Trey. He got hurt when he helped Yasyamon fight a Fugamon." said Cody.

"Oh no, are you ok Trey?" asked Jennifer looking over to Trey and noticing the way he held his arm.

"Yeah, just a little banged up on my arm but I'm fine" answered Trey. Albert ran over to Trey then began to examine his arm for a few moments, being sure not to cause him any pain.

"Baihumon helped heal him a bit, but asked that Trey see you to finish getting healed" said TJ.

"Nothing seems to be broken, bruises and cuts here and there but nothing serious. You'll be feeling sore for awhile but this is nothing I can't treat" smiled Albert finishing his examination.

"That's our group doctor" said Gaomon with a chuckle.

"I think it's time for you all to head home, I will see you at the next trial location" called out Oryxmon from one of the upper levels of the coliseum.

"Can't you tell us where the next one is?" asked Dracomon.

"Nope, you must find the next spring's location on your own. I will tell you you'll have to search the deepest part of the Digital World to find it. I will see you Digidestined very soon" spoke Oryxmon with a laugh. Oryxmon rang the bell around his next and with that he was gone.

"Let's go home guys, we have a lot to fill you in on" said Cody.

"How… How did they remove a fourth of our territory in just one day?" asked Corvus in confusion.

"Those brats, I should have stopped them when I had the chance" growled Fornax.

"Whatever they did pretty much shut off all our work in the western hemisphere of this world" spoke Ara.

"No matter, there was not much left to do in that part of the Digital World anyways" figured Lyra.

"I fear the children have found a way to stop us. We must work harder and swifter to meet our deadline. Tail those kids and find out how they are ruining our efforts" instructed Crux. The reapers nodded then vanished to continue their wicked plans.

"There we go, try not to use that arm to much. Wear the sling for a day or two to ease the weight and pressure being put on that arm. After about a week or so you can take of the bandages. Worst case scenario, you'll have a scar or two on your arm" spoke Albert as he finished attending to Trey's injuries.

"Thanks a lot man, I owe you one" said Trey getting a feel for the sling around his arm.

"Don't mention it. I've been treating the team's injuries ever since we became Digidestined. Just be careful next time or at least try not to break something I can't fix." laughed Albert As Albert helped Trey, Cody caught up all the other Digidestined on the events that had occurred while they were in the Digital World. Albert and Trey joined the group just as Cody had finished.

"Sounds like these trials are going to be brutal" said Michelle.

"The good news is part of the digital world is free from the reapers control at least" smiled Gabumon.

"You three getting the ability to Digivolve back to the ultimate level will be a great help" said Renamon.

"It will be an even bigger help once we all can help our partners reach that level again" added Winona.

"So what did y'all find out today?" asked Agumon.

"The lab work will need more time unfortunately" answered Andrew.

"We'll tell you what we find out as soon as we can" said Guilmon.

"The whole deadline thing to find the springs is starting to scare me" frowned Brandi.

"Any idea when we need to find the other four springs by?" asked Salamon.

"Actually…" started Ricky looking over to Ann, Hawkmon, and Falcomon.

"We do and it's not looking to good" said Ann.

"We looked over the notes on that mural that had the two globe looking pictures being covered with shadows and found that they matched up to a really rare event where a solar and lunar eclipse occur at the same time. From what you are tell us, this is when the Digital World and human world will be linked for a full 24hours" explained Hawkmon.

"We researched the notes Sorcerymon sent us and found a time when both worlds will be under both a solar and lunar eclipse that will last the full day." continued Falcomon.

"Don't leave us in suspense, what day is it?" asked TJ.

"December 21, the day of the winter solstice" answered Ricky.


	29. Ch 29 A Day at the Beach

_**Ch. 29 A Day at the Beach**_

"December 21? That's not too long to work with really" said Trey.

"It's already the end of September and we've barely found one of the Sacred Springs" sighed Dracomon.

"It's not so bad, we've had deadlines to meet before" encouraged Agumon.

"Yeah, we found Kayla as the next Digidestined in under a week plus had enough time to get her exposed to the Digital World before our big fight VenomMyotismon" figured TJ.

"Who?" asked Ashley.

"Long story" laughed Brandi.

"We're at the end of September and tomorrow starts October…" began calculating Winona aloud.

"So we have roughly three months to find the remaining four springs" finished Albert.

"Guess we'll have to move fast then." said Gaomon.

"Look guys, it's still too early to be worrying about all this. Let's just continue searching the Digital World for more information on the other spring locations. The sooner we can find them, the sooner we can stop the D-Reapers and set everything back to normal" spoke out Cody.

"He's right, there hasn't been a challenge to great that the Digidestined couldn't face" smiled Gabumon.

"For today let's all get some rest and set off to do some exploring tomorrow" said Michelle. The Digidestined agreed with the idea then set off for home to rest and begin a new search for the next sacred spring location.

A small speck of light seemed to elude her as she sprinted down a narrow corridor. Jennifer ran as fast as she could toward the light only to see it pull farther and farther away. Several sinister laughs mocked her as she tried to reach the distant light. She seemed to be catching up to the light and could make out a human looking figure ahead of her. When she reached the figure it fell to its knees and let out a small cry of pain.

"Please… it hurts… help me… please…" whimpered the figure.

"I want to help you, I just don't know how" said Jennifer trying to comfort the body on the ground. Before she could say anything else a sudden stream a black colored flames separated her from the crying figure.

"It's too late my dear… he's all mine!" laughed a sinister voice. The laugh was maniacal, something Jennifer though you could only hear in a horror movie. She snapped out of her dream and began to cry. Lunamon tried to comfort her as Jennifer cried for the rest of the night. Elsewhere, Cody, Agumon, and Lopmon were doing the same for Kayla.

"Is she doing better now at least?" asked Albert. He, Gaomon, Cody, and Agumon were all standing outside their base along a nearby dock talking.

"Yeah, she finally fell asleep around four or five in the morning" yawned Agumon.

"This stinks, I want to protect her but I can't be with her in her dreams" growled Cody.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll try to help her out." assured Albert "I already talked with Jennifer and got her to calm down a bit. There's something about these dreams that bug me. I've never had one that makes me see someone or something else suffer so much."

"Maybe the darkness just likes to make you three feel the pain the whole Digital World is feeling" thought out Gaomon.

"Maybe," said Albert "Anyway, good luck in the Digital World today. I need to go meet Michelle and Andrew in the school science lab. Andrew needs a second opinion on the samples he collected in the Digital World."

"Alright, keep us posted on what you find." said Cody. The pair said their goodbyes as Albert and Gaomon made their way through the forest to the school. Cody and Agumon entered the base and already found everyone set to go.

"Let's see, Baihumon and Oryxmon hinted at another spring location hidden in the deepest part of the Digital World. I think they might mean deep in the ocean so I'll be sending you guys near the biggest ocean I can find in a place called Bit Beach" informed Winona as she typed away on her laptop.

"You guys aren't gonna join us?" asked Ricky.

"We're going to stay behind to study the photos of the murals for a bit more" replied Renamon.

"Me and Hawkmon are going to stay to so we can lend a hand" added Ann.

"If you need back up though, you know who to call" said Hawkmon.

"Alright, let us know if you find anything useful" spoke Veemon just as Winona finished setting up the coordinates on her computer. The Digidestined assembled before the screen and readied their Digivices.

"We'll be back, Digiport open!" called out Ricky pulling the team through the computer screen and into the Digital World. The group was met by the smell of fresh sea air and soft sand below them. Pam trees were scattered along the coast line and the sound of the waves crashing along the shore made everything seem so peaceful.

"I love places like this" admired Brandi.

"It's a shame those dark clouds are ruining it" frowned Salamon.

"A Shadow Crystal is probably nearby then." said Kayla.

"We can try to find and destroy it. That would stop the D-Reapers from causing us any problems" spoke out Lopmon.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll take Jennifer, Lunamon, Diego, Coronamon, and Veemon with me and we can scout out the area from that cliff" said TJ as he pointed to a set of cliffs along the shore line further down the beach.

"Alright, Javi, how about you, Monodramon, Lopmon Brandi, and Salamon act as Kayla's body guards and try to find the Shadow Crystal along the base of those cliffs. Me and the others will check out the other side of the beach and see if we can find anything helpful" said Cody.

"That works, nothing will get near her with us on duty" saluted Monodramon.

"If you see the clouds clear up you'll know we found the crystal and shattered it" added Javi. The groups agreed with the plan and split off into their teams. Cody and his group made their way along the calm shore line.

"Doesn't seem to be anything really major going on here," sighed Falcomon.

"At least the others can break the Shadow Crystal and free this place from the D-Reapers control" said Dracomon.

"That doesn't look good" pointed out Ashley looking into the distance and noticing some sort of commotion.

"Looks like some Digimon are fighting" added Lalamon. The group began to run toward the sounds of the fighting to see several Digimon attacking an enormous Digimon lying helplessly in the sand, injured. The injured Digimon appeared to be a whale like creature with a dark blue colored under belly and a brown colored head. One set of Digimon that were attacking the great whale seemed to be sticking close to the water. These Digimon resembled fish but with silver colored outer shell, pink under belly, and had thin white fins emerging from their back and tail. The remaining attacking Digimon was shaped like a giant squid colored white with two long tentacles. It had grey markings on its fore head along with a series of pipes running to the back of its head.

"That large Digimon is called Whamon, he's got an attack called Tidal Wave that will wash anything away into the ocean." read Ashley from her D-Dex.

"Those fish looking Digimon attacking the Whamon are called Coelamon, they're ancient fish type Digimon with an attack called Fossil Bite" informed Ricky reading the information off his D-Dex.

"The squid Digimon are Gesomon, virus, sea loving Digimon. Careful with those large tentacles, they'll crush you with them if they use their Coral Crush attack" finished Trey, identifying the last Digimon.

"Let's get to work everyone!" said Dracomon.

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

_Lalamon Drive Digivolved to… Butterflymon_

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

"Think it's time we try out Baihumon's gift, let's kick things off old school style Agumon" smiled Cody as his ring began to glow in a soft red light.

"Alright buddy, I've been waiting to do this for awhile," grinned Agumon.

_Agumon Digivolved to… Greymon_

The great dinosaur Digimon let out a loud roar drawing the attention of the enemy Digimon. Greymon appeared to be a large form of Agumon with blue stripes running down his sides and wore a brown, skull like helmet with a horn on its head.

"That's what normal Digivolution is like?" asked Trey surprised.

"Yep," said Cody with pride in his partner.

"Let me show you guys how we did things back in the day, Nova Blast!" called out Greymon knocking back one of the Gesomon attacking Whamon. The Coelamon leapt out of the water trying to land an attack on Greymon with their talons.

"Scales of the Shining Bolts!" cried Butterflymon stopping the Coelamon and sending them back into the water. One of the Gesomon launched its two larger tentacles at Butterflymon.

"We got our own style to, Double Strike!" yelled Yasyamon using his wooden blades to slice through the attacking Gesomon and turning it into nothing but black sludge.

"Double Stars" added Shurimon taking out another Gesomon with his twin ninja stars. More Coelamon and Gesomon were rising out from beneath the water in the ocean. The Digidestined and their partners ran over and took a defensive position around Whamon.

"Let's hope the others find and destroy that crystal soon" said Ricky.

"I can sense that crystal around here somewhere" said Kayla carefully navigating over the slippery rocks below the cliff side.

"Hurry up and find it already, I want to enjoy the ocean when it's nice and sunny" laughed Javi.

"Yeah, cloudy and dreary don't really help the mood of this region" added Monodramon with a smile.

"Y'all could be searching to, poor Kayla doesn't have to do all the work" scolded Brandi.

"Yeah, just because we can't sense dark energy doesn't mean we just sit back and do nothing" said Salamon.

"Hey Kayla, is this it!" called out Lopmon from a nearby tidal pool. The group approached the pool to see a purple colored stone below the clear waters of the pool surrounded by pink coral. Kayla could immediately feel the sinister energy pulsing from the evil stone.

"That's it alright, who wants to do the honors?" asked Kayla.

"I'll handle it" smiled Lopmon.

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

"Talon Arrow!" called out Bucchiemon taking out the malignant stone with her pink arrow. The stone was immediately vaporized by the attack.

"Looks like things are clearing up" smiled Brandi seeing the dark clouds beginning to vanish. The warmth and light from the sun began to pierce though the clouds making the beach a rather beautiful sight to see.

"We better go check on Cody and his team and see how they are doing" said Salamon. The group nodded then began to head for Cody and his group.

"Nova Blast!" cried Greymon taking out another Gesomon.

"Double Strike!" added Yasyamon slicing through any Coelamon trying to land a hit on Whamon.

"Hey guys, check it out!" called out Ashley "The clouds are clearing up!"

"Kayla did it" smiled Cody seeing the sun appear in the sky once more. The Gesomon and Coelamon began to fade away into black slime, some of the enemy Digimon began to retreat back into the ocean.

"Can we deliver or what?" laughed Javi as his group rejoined with Cody's.

"Or what? Kayla did all the work" said Brandie as she rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with this poor Digimon?" frowned Kayla noticing the beached Whamon.

"That guy is a Whamon, he was being attacked by the Digimon we drove off" informed Yasyamon.

"Come on, let's get him back into the water" said Greymon beginning to push Whamon slowly toward the ocean's water. The other Digivolved Digimon helped Greymon return the great whale to the sea then returned to their rookie forms. After a few moments in the water, Whamon began to regain consciousness.

"Where am I… Who are all of you?" questioned Whamon.

"Oh, we're the Digidestined. We saw you being attacked by those D-Reaper controlled Digimon and saved you" smiled Ashley.

"Wait! Did you say Digidestined?" asked Whamon.

"Yeah, that's us" answered Cody.

"Finally, I meet humans that are pure of heart. What are you all doing at the Bit Beach?" said the great whale Digimon.

"We're trying to find information on the Digimon Sovereigns' Sacred Springs, you wouldn't happen to know where one is located would you?" asked Trey.

"No, I'm sorry but I have never heard of such a place" replied Whamon.

"It's ok, guess we hit a dead end here" frowned Dracomon.

"I may not have heard of this Sacred Spring but I do know where you might find more information on them" spoke Whamon.

"Really? Where at?" questioned Lalamon with excitement.

"I've been around in these waters for many, many years. Along in my travels I learned about a set of pirate Digimon who stole many treasures from around the Digital World. In their home they store every treasure or map they have ever stolen. If you search their hideout you may find something to help point you all in the right direction" informed Whamon.

"That sounds like a promising place to search, where is this hideout located?" said Falcomon.

"It is not too far from here, the place is called the Sunken Graveyard" answered Whamon.

"Great… we always get the nicest sounding places to check out" sighed Javi.

"It could be worse" laughed Monodramon.

"Thank you Whamon, we will defiantly check that place out" said Cody.

"It is the least I can do Digidestined, I will remain in this area if you need any further assistance" spoke Whamon. The whale like Digimon said his goodbyes to the team then dived beneath the ocean's waters.

"Looks like we know where to search next" smiled Agumon.

"That was a great workout" laughed TJ reaching the top of the seaside cliff along with Veemon, Diego, and Coronamon.

"Yeah, that was actually pretty fun" added Diego.

"Looks like everyone else was successful clearing up this area" said Coronamon taking note of the clearing skies. "Anyone see Jennifer and Lunamon?"

"They're coming, hurry up slow pokes!" called out Veemon. Jennifer and Lunamon were panting heavily as they met up with the rest of their team.

"I'm so not partnering up with athletes next time" panted Jennifer.

"Think of it as future training" said Lunamon catching her breath.

"Looks like everything is clear from up here… hold on a second… what's that place?" asked TJ point off into the distance. The team turned their attention to a large factory built along the side of the cliff further down the shore. The towers behind the factory let out streams of black smoke and the pipes exciting the building seemed to be pumping out more black sludge into the great Digital World Ocean. All the water around the factor seemed to be colored a sickly green color.

"Doubt that place is doing anything helpful for the Digital World" grimaced Veemon.

"Come on, let's go tell the others what we found. I think the D-Reapers are up to something big here" spoke TJ.


	30. Ch 30 Chemical Chaos

_**Ch. 30 Chemical Chaos**_

"Sounds like the D-Reapers are up to something with that factory, question is what are they up to" thought out Winona.

"I assume it is safe to say it is affecting our Digital Ocean" said Renamon after hearing about the pollution the factory was causing to the waters of the sea.

"We'll send one team to check it out tomorrow and another team to go check out the Sunken Graveyard Whamon told us about. At least if we can't find another clue to the next spring's location there we can at least put a dent in the D-Reaper's plan" spoke out Cody. The Digidestined agreed and left their base to get some rest for the night.

The following day the entire Digidestined team was ready to head off to the two selected locations in the Digital World. TJ agreed to take Andrew, Albert, Winona, Ashley, Jennifer, Ricky and their respective partners to investigate the factory while Cody would lead everyone else to search the Sunken Graveyard for more information on the Sacred Springs.

"Digiport open!" called out Ashley pulling her group into the Digital World. The team of Digidestined appeared hidden behind a set of rocks near the corrupt factory. The plant seemed to be made from tin walls and roofing with a tall metal fence surrounding the perimeter. The pools of water below the factory appeared to be more sludge like than water like with a murky green color. The stench from the waters could make anyone sick after staying there for awhile.

"This place stinks." groaned Ashley using her shirt to cover her mouth and nose.

"No kidding" said Falcomon trying to cover his beak with his feathers.

"What the heck is that factory making to produce all this waste?" questioned Andrew.

"Who knows? Whatever it is can't be good" answered Guilmon.

"Come on, let's see if we can find a way in" said TJ leading the group closer to the factory. They reached an entry gate and found it locked up tight with chains and a pad lock.

"I can take care of that, Seed Shot" said Lalamon shooting out a series of seeds from her mouth. The seeds easily shattered the lock and loosened the chains allowing the team to reach the factory. They found a nearby door and entered the factory quietly and quickly hid behind several nearby cargo boxes. The team could see numerous small, green colored slug like Digimon scattered about the factory working. Some of the slug shaped Digimon wore harnesses pulling large cars behind them carrying several barrels on them. Others were just knocking the barrels into large vats of liquid from the upper floors of the factory. In the center of the factory, on the highest floor, was a square, office looking room connected by several suspended walkways.

"Those poor Digimon, they're acting like slaves here." frowned Jennifer pulling out her D-Dex "looks like they're called Numemon, pretty harmless champion level Digimon. Yuk… they have an attacked called Nume-sludge, you don't want to know what's it in. Trust me."

Off in the distance the group could see rows and rows of glass containers filled with a clear colored liquid with a black sludge like fluid moving inside them. A series of clear pipes above them seemed to be pulling the black fluid out of the containers then transferred it to another machine connected to a conveyer belt. Small black orbs could be seen being running along the conveyer line then dumped into yellow capsules at the end of the line. The Numemon would then close the filled capsules and stack them along a nearby wall.

"I know what this factory does now" gasped Andrew suddenly "This place is making the black orbs the Digital Reapers use to capture all the Digimon."

"Knew this place was evil, better get started shutting this place down." said Veemon.

"Looks like they have back up security here to" said Albert pointing to a set of Digimon guarding the clear liquid filled capsules. Digimon appeared to be nothing more than a rotten pile of pale blue colored sludge covered with various pieces of metal. "Those guys are Raremon if I remember right, Champion level Digimon with an attack called Breath of Decay. I'd avoid that attack if I were you, it kinda acts like an acid and eats away at anything."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Gaomon.

"We could start tearing down the factory, all of us attacking at once could do some damage" figured Ricky.

"I want to check out that office first. If we're lucky we can pull out some information from the D-Reapers if they left anything there." said Andrew.

"Looks like we got a Shadow Crystal here to" said Albert "You feel it to Jennifer?"

"Yeah, I can feel one close by" replied Jennifer.

"Ok, Andrew, Guilmon, Albert, Gaomon, Winona, and Renamon. Go check out that office and see if you can learn anything helpful. Ashley, Lalamon, and Lunamon, help Jennifer find and destroy that shadow crystal. Regroup with me, Veemon, Ricky, and Falcomon once you're done" ordered TJ.

"What are you guys going to do in the mean time?" asked Albert.

"We'll be the distraction." laughed TJ.

"Alright, I've wanted to mess with the D-Reapers again" cheered Veemon. The group broke off into their smaller teams and took off into the factory. Albert and his group located a nearby staircase and climbed onto the higher level of the factory. Jennifer and her small group snuck their way further into the factory to find the shadow crystal.

"Let's make a big entrance" smiled TJ readying his Digivice.

_Veemon Drive Digivolved to… Flamedramon_

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

"Fire Rocket!" cried Flamedramon throwing his flaming attack toward one of the suspended vats. The flames were intense enough to cut through the chains and cause the cauldron to come crashing down onto the floor. It's glowing green contents were spilled onto the floor while the Numemon began to panic.

"Not the smartest bunch are they?" asked Ricky.

"Doesn't look like it, Double Stars!" shouted Shurimon slicing through one of the suspended walkways. Several balls of brown colored slime crashed into a set of nearby boxes as the Raremon began to make their way to TJ and Ricky.

"I think that got their attention" said TJ

"Flamedramon and Shurimon got the Numemon and Raremon pretty distracted" said Albert watching the fighting from a nearby window. His team had managed to make their way up to the factory's control room unnoticed. Andrew looking through several scattered documents along the floor while Winona typed away on a nearby computer.

"Hey guys, check this out" said Winona calling over the group. They all surrounded her and observed what she was displaying on the computer screen. The image of a double helix was displayed though some parts of the helix were broken or missing. Alongside the helix were the names of several complicated sounding chemical compound names. She then pulled up a few more screens detailing several experiment preformed on Digimon.

"What are these guys doing to our world?" asked Gaomon.

"It seems they are after more than conquest of just this world" spoke Renamon.

"We'll have to go through all these notes later." said Andrew pulling out a flash drive from his pocket and handing it to Winona. She quickly downloaded all the data onto the drive then passed it back to Andrew. Albert took notice of something from a nearby window and began to make his way to the exit.

"You guys go back up TJ and Ricky when you're done, I'm gonna go check on Jennifer and Ashley"

"Alright, be careful" said Andrew watching Albert and Gaomon leave.

"What are you doing now Winona?" asked Guilmon.

"Making sure this place will be shut down permanently." answered Winona typing frantically on the keyboard.

"Scales of the Shining Bolts!" cried Butterflymon vaporizing several Numemon with her electric attack while dodging the onslaught of small pink sludge balls being flung at her.

"Spinning Cutter!" shouted Rinkmon leaping gracefully into the air and slicing through a nearby Raremon.

"Some of the evil Digimon are following us. Sense anything yet Jennifer?" asked Ashley.

"Yeah, I can feel that crystal nearby, shouldn't be too much farther." answered Jennifer trying to sense out the crystal. She made her way though several rows of boxes and found an open clearing in the factory. In the center of the clearing sat the crystal and to their surprise stood Lyra guarding it.

"Didn't think I would be that easy did you girls?" sneered Lyra.

"To be honest we did" replied Rinkmon.

"Funny, I must say I do not appreciate the damage you've done to my conversion plant" growled Lyra.

"Well, we don't like the damage you've done to our world" countered Butterflymon.

"You pests do not understand the bigger picture here yet. There is so much more that you all remain blind to." spoke Lyra. The Digital Reaper snapped her fingers and summoned several more Raremon to surround the Digidestined. "If you would be so kind to surrender, I'll make your demise go by so much smoother."

"Horn Blade!" exclaimed Moosemon swiftly cutting through Raremon with his glowing horns.

"Thought I sensed something rotten here" said Albert catching up to Jennifer and Ashley.

"Funny, I have completed my work here. We'll meet again children" hissed Lyra as she vanished in a puff or black smoke.

"Scales of the Shining Bolts" cried Butterflymon destroying the shadow crystal with one attack. Within a few short seconds the sounds of the fighting in the distance seemed to cease.

"Let's get going guys, I think our work is done here." said Albert leading his group toward the factory exit.

"Fire Rocket!" called out Flamedramon taking out several Numemon with his attack.

"Double Stars!"cried Shurimon slicing though a Raremon then using his twin ninja starts to eliminate one of the conveyer belts. The duo began to notice all the enemy Digimon fading away into puddles of black slime.

"Looks like Jennifer's team destroyed the crystal," said Ricky.

"Shell Needle Rain" called out Stegomon suddenly shattering the tanks containing the strange black fluid with the spikes on his back. Andrew was able to catch up with the TJ's team as Stegomon finished his work. Winona and Renamon joined them just as Stegomon took out the last tank.

"Looks like the capsules loaded with those capture orbs are gone." sighed Winona looking over several empty tanks along the wall.

"Jennifer, Albert, and Ashley have already managed to escape the plant with their partners. I suggest we do the same quickly" said Renamon.

"Why quickly?" asked Flamedramon.

"WARNING SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED! WARNING…" barked a voice from a nearby intercom.

"We left a parting gift" smiled Winona. The group took off for the exit then met up with the other Digidestined back at the location they had arrived at. After a few moments the processing plant was destroyed in a huge explosion sending the building into the toxic waters below.

"That ends that" said Gaomon.

"Other than the hundred baths we'll need to take to wash off the smell from the plant I think we did a good job here today" smiled Ashley.

"We got some more information on the D-Reapers to go over once we get back home to" said Andrew showing off the flash drive in his hand.

"Sweet, let's head home guys" smiled TJ as he and his group readied their Digivices for the return home.


	31. Ch 31 A Pirate's Life for Me

_**Ch. 31 A Pirate's Life for Me**_

The sky above was filled with dark clouds and the faint rumble of thunder could be heard. Scattered around the eerily calm, murky waters of the digital ocean were run down ships. Most of which seemed to be ripped straight from a pirate movie with their classic builds and being constructed from wood. The ships appeared to be run down and some were even completely destroyed lying against the jagged rocks reaching out from the ocean floor. Cody and his group surveyed the area from the ship they had appeared on.

"Well this place isn't creepy at all" sighed Javi.

"And I thought only Winona picked the scary places" added Monodramon with a laugh.

"It's the Sunken Graveyard, what did you expect?" asked Ann walking over to the edge of the ship and taking a look at all the marooned boats.

"How should we start searching this place?" questioned Brandi.

"There are so many ships, it would take forever to check them all out" said Salamon.

"Most of these ships look like they were part of a fleet. There has to be a flagship or something that lead all of them. I bet anything really valuable would be on there" figured Cody.

"If some of us searched from the air it would probably be easier to spot." spoke Agumon.

"We got that covered" smiled Hawkmon.

_Hawkmon Drive Digivolved to… Halsemon_

_Salamon Drive Digivolved to… Nefertimon_

_Monodramon Drive Digivolved to… Pteramon_

Ann, Brandi, and Javi climbed onto their Digimon partner's backs and took off into the sky above. They scanned the surrounding area for a bit trying to survey the area better.

"See anything interesting?" yelled Trey from below.

"Nothing special other than more wrecked ships," answered Brandi.

"Maybe there's nothing here" said Michelle.

"We could always try…" began Gabumon but was suddenly cut off by an explosion on a nearby mast. The tall wooden pole soon began to drop, crashing into the murky sea. "… on second though"

"Where'd that come from?" asked Dracomon searching the scene.

"We have company" pointed out Coronamon, staring at a nearby ship. Several Digimon were busy loading a cannon and taking aim at the ship the Digidestined were standing on. The Digimon appeared to be ghosts wearing ragged white sheets with sharp teeth and black eyes.

"Those are Bakemon, ghost Digimon at the champion level. They have a pretty scary attacked called Zombie Claw that they use to slash at their enemies" read Kayla from her D-Dex

"Ahoy you scallywags, trying to take me treasure are ya!" echoed a voice suddenly. The team saw another Digimon step out from behind the Bakemon. The Digimon wore a pirate captain's uniform colored in red and sported a pirate hat with the usual skull and cross bone mark on it. He had a gold hook for one hand and a silver cannon for his other. An eye patch covered one of his eyes while his remaining eye was colored in black.

"That's Hookmon, he's at the champion level to and you better not bring up how he lost that hand of his. His Captain Cannon attack will blast you if you do" spoke Kayla scanning the new Digimon.

"My masters warned me of some children seeking me booty. I'll make you walk the plank for that!" said Hookmon.

"Ew… we're looking for your treasure, not your booty!" shouted Javi.

"Not helping here Javi" sighed Ann.

"No one takes me treasure, Bakemon fire!" commanded Hookmon. A barrage of cannon balls were shot from the cannons on Hookmon's ship, all aimed for the Digidestined team.

_Lopmon Drive Digivolved to… Bucchiemon_

"Talon Arrow!" called out Bucchiemon sending her flying pink arrows to intercept the oncoming barrage. The explosion from the two attacks caused the ship and all neighboring ships to rock violently back and forth. The ship the group stood on began to split apart separating Cody, Agumon, Trey and Dracomon from Kayla, Bucchiemon, Michelle, Gabumon, Diego, and Coronamon.

"Iris Beam!" cried Nefertimon attacking the enemy Digimon.

"Missile Storm" added Pteramon trying to scare off the Bakemon attacks.

"Hold on Ann, Tempest Wing!" called out Halsemon creating a tornado and using it to destroy several masts from the surrounding ships. The large poles created walkways between all the ships in the area. "You guys can move to the other ships now!"

"Arr… They be craftier than expected. Fall back me mattes to our ship. We can take care of them from there," ordered Hookmon escaping to another ship with his Bakemon crew. Several of the Bakemon stayed behind and continued to attack the Digidestined with the cannons.

"We'll go after Hookmon! You guys try and find another way to regroup with us" said Cody taking off with Trey and their partners. The pair was in hot pursuit of Hookmon and his ghost crew using the newly created pathway.

"We'll cover you guys" spoke Brandi from above.

"See another way to catch up to them" said Michelle as her small group escaped the sinking ship to another vessel. Once on the new ship Kayla felt a pulse of dark energy serge though her. She stopped to scan the area for the source of the evil energy.

"Feeling a Shadow Crystal?" asked Bucchiemon taking notice of his partner.

"Yes, and I think it is pretty close by" said Kayla still scouting the area.

"Let's go find it. If we take it out, Hookmon and his crew should stop attacking us," said Diego.

* * *

"Cody and the others should be fine handling Hookmon for now," figured Coronamon. The trio quickly agreed with the idea and began their search with Kayla in the lead.

Cody and Trey with Agumon and Dracomon managed to catch up to Hookmon on his flagship. The vessel was a lot bigger than all the other ships with a bigger deck and a gold trim to the ship's exterior. All the sails seemed to be intact, colored black with the skull and cross bones insignia on the main sail. Hookmon stood on the upper deck of the boat while the Bakemon surrounded the Digidestined on the lower deck. Halsemon, Pteramon, and Nefertimon stayed busy from the sky taking care of the Bakemon still firing the cannons from the surrounding ships.

"Just try and take me booty! Bakemon attack!" commanded Hookmon.

_Agumon Drive Digivolved to… Allomon_

_Dracomon Drive Digivolved to… Yasyamon_

"Double Strike" called out Yasyamon slicing through some of the attacking Bakemon. The enemy Digimon were easily defeated by the attack and turned into puddles of black goo that seeped into the surrounding waters.

"Dino Burst" added Allomon taking out more of the Bakemon with his stream of flames. More Bakemon began to swarm the deck as they were being destroyed.

"We're not getting anywhere here" said Trey.

"Missile Storm!" cried Pteramon taking out a few incoming cannon balls.

"Better think of something quick, the cannon fire is getting to close!" shouted Javi.

"What's keeping the others?" wondered Nefertimon.

* * *

_Coronamon Drive Digivolved to… Bullmon_

_Gabumon Drive Digivolved to… Raidramon_

"Matador Dash!" exclaimed Bullmon rushing through a group of Bakemon blocking the path to another ship. The Bakemon were sent flying into the ocean's waters after being hit with Bullmon's attack.

"Thunder Blast!" cried Raidramon destroying any remaining Bakemon left. The group ran across the newly cleared pathway and onto the next ship. Kayla scanned the area then turned her attention to the ship's crow's-nest. She could see the familiar dome shaped crystal perched in the nest.

"There it is" pointed out Kayla.

"Leave it to me, Talon Arrow" said Bucchiemon taking aim.

"Ye scurvy dogs be no match for me" taunted Hookmon fighting one on one with Yasyamon. He took aim with his cannon arm and shot several bursts toward Yasyamon. Yasyamon quickly leapt into the air and dodged the attack. Allomon swiftly fired his Dino Burst attack trying to land a hit on Hookmon. The pirate Digimon dodged the attack and swung to the lower deck using his hook hand to slide down a nearby rope. "Try that again ye overgrown lizard, Captain Cannon!"

"Dino Burst" countered Allomon. The blast from the two attacks pushed the opposing Digimon to the edges of the ship.

"His crew is vanishing guys!" cheered Ann taking notice of several of the Bakemon slowly fading into globs of slime.

"Kayla and the others must have found and destroyed a Shadow Crystal" analyzed Halsemon.

"Way to go sis!" smiled Cody.

"Arr! I still be here to fight ye brats!" roared Hookmon readying his cannon.

"Forget about me? Double Strike!" cried Yasyamon appearing behind Hookmon and cutting through the Digimon with his wooden blades. Hookmon stumbled to the railing of the ship and slowly began to fade away. The pirate Digimon started to fall over the ship's railing as he muttered his last words "Ye haven't seen the last of me Digidestined…"

"That takes care of him" said Allomon changing back to Agumon. The team's Digimon reverted back to their rookie forms as the group gathered on the ship's deck.

"Did we miss anything interesting?" laughed Diego as he and the remaining Digidestined rejoined with the group.

"Just the usual" replied Monodramon with a laugh.

"Now that Hookmon and his crew have been taken care of, let's search the ship for anything that might help us find the next Sacred Springs location" said Cody. The team split up and began search the flag ship. After some time searching high and low though the ship's many rooms and rickety corridors lead the team to discover the captain's quarters. A gold colored treasure chest next to several piles of old maps and navigation equipment caught the attention of the group.

"Let's see what we have here…" began Trey as he opened the chest and rummaged through its contents. Trey pulled out a rather old looking map wrapped and sealed with a gold colored emblem. He unfurled the map and read over it for a moment with Dracomon looking on.

"Hey, aren't those the symbols for the crest's of Honor, Wisdom, and Harmony" pointed out the dragon Digimon. The crests were surrounding a small island in the center of the map surrounded by what looked like markings for mountains. The words _Typhoon Ruins_ were scribbled below the land mark along with the words_ sea god_.

"I think we found the next spring" smiled Trey.

"Great, let's get this to Wizardmon and get an exact location." said Ann taking a picture of the map for her records. The Digidestined team soon left the Sunken Graveyard with their new find in tow.


	32. Ch 32 City Beneath the Sea

_**Ch. 32 City Beneath the Sea**_

A few days past before Wizardmon was able to figure out the exact location of the next Sacred Spring's location using the map provided by the Digidestined. Once Wizardmon found the spring, he messaged the Digidestined on what to do next. Winona read over the email while the other Digidestined and their partners looked on.

"Wizardmon has already spoken to Whamon about taking us to the spring. He says a small group should go since the location is pretty confined. We're supposed to meet Whamon on a small island near the Typhoon Ruins" said Winona reading over the message from Wizardmon.

"For sure Winona, Renamon, Javi, Monodramon, Ricky, and Falcomon have to go to perform whatever test the Digimon sovereign has set up," spoke Agumon

"The trial will really test you three, are you up for it?" asked TJ.

"Oh yeah! We can handle it" cheered Monodramon.

"We got this" said Javi confidently.

"We've never failed any test yet" said Winona.

"And we don't plan to start failing anytime soon" added Renamon.

"You can leave everything to us" nodded Falcomon.

"Yeah… we can do this…" finished Ricky sounding a little nervous.

"Don't worry about it, me, TJ, Agumon, and Veemon will go to and make sure the reapers don't try anything funny," spoke Cody.

"Me and Kayla will come to. If the reapers do show up we'll be able to sense them coming and alert the others for backup" added Albert.

"That sounds like a good plan to me" said Gaomon.

"The rest of us will hold down the fort for now I guess" figured Trey.

"Let's get going everyone, we have a spring to find!" exclaimed Veemon causing the entire group to cheer in excitement. Winona pulled up the agreed meeting spot on the Digital World map and set up the Digital gate. The traveling team assembled before the computer screen and prepared to go to the Digital World.

"Digiport Open!' called out Ricky holding up his Digivice. The team was then pulled though the computer screen and dropped off on the shores of a beach. Everything seemed calm as a warm breeze blew along the bay and rustling the leave of a few nearby palm trees. Whamon was already waiting for the team once they arrived.

"Welcome back kids, I know exactly where to find the spring. Water is a little rough in that area but it's nothing I haven't handled before" said Whamon.

"Thanks, we're ready to go when you are" said Lopmon.

"I am set to go now, the entrance to the ruins is below the surface of the ocean so if you would please…" began Whamon opening his mouth wide.

"Oh please don't tell me this is going where I think it's going" grimaced Kayla.

"It's the only way sis, shouldn't be that bad a trip" laughed Cody.

"What's wrong Kayla? Never had sushi before?" mocked TJ.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle" smiled Whamon. The group climbed into Whamon's mouth, much to the disgust of Kayla. Whamon then shut his mouth tightly and dove into the sea. He navigated the sea floor carefully, avoiding the harsher currents and jagged rocks the closer he got to the ruins. After sometime had passed, Whamon saw the ruins coming into view. Several white marble monuments depicting a variety of ocean dwelling Digimon surrounded a dome shaped structure made out of the same marble material. The dome was completely smooth and had a gold trim surrounding the rim of the building in a wave like pattern. A golden archway seemed to be the entrance to the Typhoon Ruins. Whamon swam into the archway and made his way up to a small opening above the water. Once inside he opened his mouth and allowed the Digidestined to exit. A few torches lined the walls of the room and seemed to mark out a pathway for the group to follow.

"Let's never do that again" shuttered Kayla.

"It wasn't so bad" said Albert.

"Thanks for the lift Whamon" spoke Gaomon.

"No problem, I'll wait and rest here until you all are ready to return home." said Whamon. The team followed the pathway until they reached a grey doorway made from pure silver. The symbols for the crests of Honor, Harmony, and Wisdom were carved on the surface of the doorway and highlighted in gold.

"Welcome Digidestined, this is the entry way to the Trial of Water" echoed Oryxmon's voice. The team turned their attention to a ledge above the doorway to see Oryxmon waiting for them. The goat like Digimon hopped down from the ledge and stood before the team. "I've been waiting for you all here since the Trial of Earth"

"Wait a second, if you've known where this place was already, why didn't you just tell us where to go and save us the time of having to search for this it!" asked Javi sounding annoyed.

"Simple, the Sacred Spring's locations are to remain a secret to all but a chosen few. Besides, as long as I keep quiet the Digital Reapers won't catch on to what you Digidestined are up to. Now then…" began Oryxmon walking to the trial's doorway. Oryxmon rang the bell around his neck signaling the doorway to open. Once the doors swung open, a dark tunnel awaited the Digidestined. Oryxmon began to enter the darkened pathway "If the Digidestined of Harmony, Wisdom, and Honor would please follow me."

"Guess this is it, we'll see you guys when it's over" said Javi following Oryxmon.

"Don't worry, we can handle a little test" added Monodramon.

"Wonder what we'll have to do." spoke Winona entering the tunnel.

"We will overcome any challenge that presents itself." assured Renamon.

"We'll be ok, I hope" gulped Ricky.

"I'll keep you safe Ricky, do not worry about a thing" smiled Falcomon.

"Good luck guys!" cheered on Kayla.

"We'll be here when you finish!" added Veemon. Once the chosen Digidestined passed through the doorway, the metal doors slammed shut surrounding the team in total darkness. Several blue flames appeared along the walls illuminating the pathway to take. Oryxmon faced the group before they could advance any further.

"The Trial of Water has begun Digidestined. From here onward you will be on your own without me to guide you. This trial is very simple in my opinion. Follow this pathway to find the city hidden in the ruins. Once you reach the city, your task is to catch three servants of Ebonwumon. Each of these servants is carrying a fragment of the sovereign's emblem. When you manage to collect all three fragments, find the center of the city and join them there to reveal the Sacred Spring. Easy right?"

"Sounds like it, what's the catch?" eyed Monodramon suspiciously.

"There's no catch my friend." smiled Oryxmon.

"Let's go, the sooner we find the emblem fragments, the sooner we finish." said Javi taking the lead. The Digidestined followed the hallway for a few minutes until finally stepping out of the darkness and into a massive city. The entire roof seemed to me made from glass allowing the group to see the waters and various aquatic life swimming outside the city. The city was illuminated by the rays of light entering from the sky above the ocean. The streets were made from a mix of white and teal tile fragments. The buildings to the great city appeared to be made from brightly colored coral ranging in a variety of colors.

"Whoa…" spoke out Ricky taking in the site before them. The group didn't even notice the pathway from the cave disappear behind them, leaving them at the edge of the city. It was then that an elderly voice echoed through the ocean metropolis.

_Only with great Wisdom, will you solve this puzzle_

_Clear the clouds of doubt in your mind to find Harmony in your heart_

_And when you have achieved Honor, you will have completed my test_


	33. Ch 33 Trial of Water

_**Ch. 33 Trial of Water**_

"Ok, so we're in Ebonwumon's city, now what?" asked Monodramon.

"We find the sovereign's followers and retrieve the emblem fragments" answered Renamon.

"Where do we start though? This city is so big" pondered Winona.

"We could just look around, see if anything pops up" figured Javi.

"That might take too long" said Falcomon.

"There has to be some method to this test" thought out Ricky. Before anyone could make another suggestion a slight, clicking noise could be heard echoing through the city's streets. "Anyone else here that?"

"It's coming from over there" pointed out Falcomon flying down the street. The team followed Falcomon down a nearby path until they could see a short Digimon playing in the distance. The Digimon appeared to be a miniature version of an orca whale that stood on its hind fins which acted as feet. The Digimon wore a yellow life vest and had a red and white life preserver around its waist.

"Orcamon, it's a playful sea Digimon. They kinda act as the Digital World's lifeguards and have an attack called Ultrasonic Crusher" read Winona from her D-Dex after scanning the sea Digimon.

"Take a look at what its holding" pointed out Renamon. The Orcamon was currently playing with a shiny, gold colored object in its hands.

"It's an emblem fragment" said Javi with a bit of surprise.

"Well that was easy enough" smiled Monodramon. "Hey little buddy, mind if we have that?"

The Orcamon took notice of the Digidestined with their partners and stared at them for a bit. The sea Digimon then attached the emblem fragment onto his life vest and began to run down the street. Orcamon then dove and started to slide along the street on its belly.

"After him!" called out Renamon chasing after Orcamon with Winona.

"Aw man, I thought this was gonna be easy." sighed Javi chasing after the Orcamon with Monodramon. Ricky and Falcomon joined the pursuit soon after. The sea Digimon seemed to be enjoying the race, much to the annoyance of the Digidestined. Orcamon weaved through the streets with the team in hot pursuit.

"Where'd he go?" asked Winona after reaching a two way intersection.

"He went down the left path" answered Javi running down the pointed out pathway. The team ran down the left street way until coming upon another split crossing.

"To the right!" yelled out Monodramon. The team took the right pathway only to find themselves at a dead end. "I could have sworn I saw Orcamon come down this way."

"What the… he's behind us!" shouted Falcomon turning around to see Orcamon smiling at the group.

"Wait a second…" said Ricky to himself seeing the fragment on Orcamon's jacket. Orcamon took off down another street causing the team to bolt after the sea Digimon. They soon came onto a four way crossing.

"He went to the right" called out Winona taking the right path with Renamon.

"No, he went left!" yelled Javi taking the left path with Monodramon.

"Hold on guys!" shouted Ricky but it was too late. Javi and Winona were already too far down their selected pathways to hear him. Ricky let out a sigh as he stood in the center of the splitting roadway.

"What's wrong Ricky?" asked Falcomon.

"Something doesn't seem right with the Orcamon we've been chasing. We think we've been chasing the Orcamon we saw when we first entered the city but, I have the feeling we're being played here" answered Ricky.

"What makes you say that?" said Falcomon.

"When we hit that dead end and turned to see Orcamon behind us, I noticed the emblem fragment it was holding was different from the first fragment we saw. Plus, even if we were chasing after Orcamon up to the dead end, where did he go after that. If he hit the dead end he'd be trapped to" said Ricky.

"A very interesting observation, so we probably have multiple Orcamon playing with us. What do you suggest we do?" questioned Falcomon.

"I think we should head to the center of the city" said Ricky pointing toward the center path. "I got the feeling we'll find some answers there"

"Right, let's get going" said Falcomon leading the way. The duo continued down the central path, ignoring any side routes the road split into. It wasn't long until the two found the direct center of the coral made city. A white colored conch shell appearing tower stood in the central square of the city. A set of green, purple, and navy blue colored lines highlighted the spiraling staircase on the side of the structure.

"Up there!" pointed out Ricky dashing for the staircase. Along with Falcomon, the pair followed the stairs up to the highest platform of the conch based building. The two of them reached to top of the structure only to find an Orcamon playing with a pedestal on the center of the platform. The Orcamon took notice of the two and gave a little gasp of shock before darting past the pair and sliding down the stairs.

"So, the Orcamon have a little system going here" observed Falcomon.

"I knew something funny was going on" said Ricky running up to the pedestal and looking over it. The stand was circular and had a series of multicolored lines running around the surface. The podium was divided into three rings that appeared to be movable. Even a few of the lines seemed to be able to be slide over other lines. "I wonder what happens if I move this line…"

* * *

"We're gaining on him" panted Javi.

"Just a little more to go" said Monodramon. The two were getting closer to the fleeing Orcamon when Orcamon soon turned quickly at a nearby corner. Javi and Monodramon turned the corner swiftly only to run directly into a red coral wall. The two fell onto their backs holding their noses in pain.

"Ow…" cringed the pair.

* * *

"You hear that?" asked Falcomon surveying the city.

"Nope, I didn't hear anything" said Ricky still focused on the circular pedestal. "Ok, so I can slide some of these lines around. Now what happens when I turn one of these rings…"

* * *

"Diamond Storm" cried Renamon launching her flurry of crystals toward Orcamon. The Digimon gracefully dodged the attack then continued to slide down the street. Winona and Renamon continued after him. The Orcamon came to yet another diverging street way. Just as the two reached the split pathway the two saw a few building slide over forcing them to go down another passageway.

"What just happened?" said Winona stopping in her tracks.

* * *

"I think I get this now!" exclaimed Ricky with Falcomon looking on appearing confused.

"That's good, I still do not understand what is going on" sighed Falcomon.

"It's ok, I'll explain. This little device controls the arrangement of this entire city. The colored lines represent the buildings and walls along the street while the open spaces between the lines are the streets themselves. I can rotate the city's three sections shuffling the crossing pathways and if I wanted to I can even block off certain roadways just by sliding some of the colored lines." explained Ricky.

"I understand now, the Orcamon up here has been watching where his buddies have been running to and was moving the roadways to allow them to escape capture. The Orcamon on the actual streets have just been playing with us, making it seem like we were only dealing with one slick Digimon" figured out Falcomon.

"Exactly, I think we can use this to our advantage now. Do you mind finding Javi, Winona, Monodramon, and Renamon and taking them a message while I set things up here?" asked Ricky.

"Not a problem, from up here I should be able to spot them fairly quickly. I little power boost would be helpful though"

"I'm on it" smiled Ricky readying his Digivice.

_Falcomon Drive Digivolved to… Shurimon_

* * *

"This is strange, I know I saw the city move itself" said Renamon. Winona and her partner had lost Orcamon and were searching the streets hoping to find him again. The two turned a nearby corner to discover Javi and Monodramon on the ground nursing their injuries from the collision with the wall.

"This is no time to be goofing off you to" glared Winona.

"We weren't" grunted Monodramon.

"We were chasing Orcamon when this wall popped up out of nowhere" sighed Javi lifting himself off the ground with Monodramon.

"Wait, how could you be chasing Orcamon? We were chasing Orcamon" said Winona in confusion.

"The pain in my nose would disagree with that" said Monodramon.

"It seems we are being toyed with" figured Renamon.

"Don't worry, we all have been" said Shurimon appearing behind the group. "There are three Orcamon running around here and have been controlling the layout of the city"

"So that's how the city moved and how that wall came out of nowhere" spoke Javi.

"Exactly, Ricky and I have found the control panel and have made a plan to round up all the Orcamon at once" said Shurimon.

"Great, what's the plan?" questioned Monodramon.

"Well…" began Shurimon

* * *

_Monodramon Drive Digivolved to… Pteramon_

_Renamon Drive Digivolved to… Kabukimon_

"Found you" panted Winona. She and Kabukimon managed to find one of the Orcamon just strolling down a street of the great coral city.

"We'll play our role in this, Cherry Blossom Storm" called out Kabukimon startling the Orcamon and causing the Digimon to run away with her petal based attack. The pair bolted after the Orcamon as they crossed street after street. Elsewhere, Javi and Pteramon managed to find another Orcamon they had been chasing and managed to get the Digimon to flee toward the center of the city.

"Missile Storm" shouted Pteramon launching his attack up into the air. The missiles collided with each other before finally exploding midair.

"There's the signal," said Ricky to himself seeing the explosion from the building top. He continued to adjust the alter as fast as he could "Your turn Shurimon!"

"On it, Double Stars" called out Shurimon throwing his twin ninja stars toward the third Orcamon. The sea Digimon was startled by the attack and dashed down a nearby pathway. Orcamon ran as quickly as he could until suddenly, with a loud crash, the Digimon ran directly into the other two Digimon. The three Orcamon collected themselves only to realize they were trapped at a dead end. Ricky, Shurimon, Javi, Pteramon, Winona, and Kabukimon blocked the only exit, all of them smiling.

"Got ya" laughed Javi. The Orcamon looked at each other then smiled. They pulled the emblem fragments from off their life vests and presented them to the Digidestined. The Digidestined trio cautiously approached the Orcamon and retrieved the fragment pieces. In a bright flash of light, the three Orcamon vanished, leaving the group in silence.

"I call this test passed!" cheered Pteramon.

"It's not over yet, we need to activate the spring before we can officially be done" pointed out Kabukimon returning to her rookie form, the other Drive Digimon did the same. The group began to walk back to the center of the city.

"That plan was perfect Ricky" complimented Javi.

"Yeah, if you didn't notice what the Orcamon were doing we'd still be chasing them" said Winona.

"Thanks, I'm just glad I could play my part and help" smiled Ricky.

"See, you were worried for nothing" said Falcomon. The group reached the center of the sunken city then held out the emblem fragments they had collected. The trio held out their fragments, fusing the pieces together and forming the completed emblem of the Digimon sovereign, Ebonwumon. The image of a turtle with what appeared to be an entire forest on its back now appeared on the surface of the emblem. The conch shaped building began to fade away, revealing a new structure in its place. The structure was solid white with a series of circular pillars surrounding a much large pillar in the center of this rounded structure. One of the outer pillars seemed to have an empty slot to insert the emblem into.

"It is almost over Digidestined, insert the emblem into the slot" instructed Oryxmon walking out from behind the fountain. Ricky took the emblem and approached the fountain with Falcomon. He inserted the emblem into the open slot causing the pillars to begin to glow in a golden light. The symbols for the crests of Harmony, Wisdom, and Honor appeared in a triangular pattern around the fountain. "Now, to finish the activation, take your respective positions and present your tags and crests"

The trio walked over to their designated spots with their partners close by then presented the requested items together. Their crests began to glow in their designated colors then sent out a beam of light to strike the central pillar. The central pillar erupted with crystal clear water as the light from the Sacred Spring began to glow brighter and brighter. The trio and their partners shielded their eyes as they felt the light engulf them.

"You three are smarter than you look, I'll see you when you get back" echoed Oryxmon's voice.


End file.
